


A String of Souls

by AshMish111



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, inukag - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 28,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24663268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshMish111/pseuds/AshMish111
Summary: Kagome Higurashi lives in a world where everyone has a soulmate, and they don't have to wait long to find them. She is more than happy with the person fate has chosen to stay by her side, but as soon as Happily Ever After can begin, it's ripped away. Fate, it seems, can be a cruel mistress. Or maybe not... Time travel/Soulmate AU/No jewel/InuKag Rated T for language
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 16
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> CW: this chapter contains reference to a fatal vehicle accident

Warm sun; sparse, puffy clouds; a cool invigorating breeze. All these things contrasted starkly against the storm in her heart.

Kagome Higurashi gazed blankly at the headstone in front of her, wishing for rain, or a gray sky, or even one thick cloud to dull the sun for even a moment, to reflect the state of her soul.

But it was not to be. It never was.

Always it was bright and sparkling when she came on this day.

"First the Kami take my soul mate, and then they don't even have the decency to give me a gloomy day on the anniversary... _Kisho_..."

Her heart throbbed and a tear ran down her cheek. She brought out the pair of cupcakes she'd brought and placed one at the base of the headstone.

His birthday. _Their_ birthday.

That's when he'd died, two years ago on their shared birthday. She couldn't bear to "celebrate" this day any other way now, she just wished for once the weather would cooperate and be _bad_.

"Happy Birthday Kisho. Sorry I haven't been back since my last visit a few months ago. School's been... Keeping me busy. Not sure what the point even is."

She crossed her arms over her knees and sighed.

"You'd hate to hear me say that."

She reached out and traced over his etched name.

"I should probably be better than I am by now... but I'm not."

Her hand dropped to the ground next to her and she fiddled With the grass that grew lush and green over his burial plot, another testament to the time that had passed since his departure from this realm. The gaping, gnawing chasm inside her felt no smaller, no closer to closing and she felt like she drowned in it more and more each day.

They'd been 17 when he died.

Being so young, everyone seemed to think she'd bounce back rather quickly and get on to living all the life that stretched out in front of her. They saw it as some kind of gift she should grab on to, saw the loss of him as some kind of lesson she should learn about living life to the fullest.

She saw it all as an endless desert to cross with no water in her canteen, and no shoes on her feet. 

Maybe there would be an oasis on the other side. Or maybe there would be a giant snake ready to devour her.

She didn't honestly see the point in finding out.

She wasn't hiding it as well as she wanted, and had had to listen to a litany of well meaning friends and relatives try to buck her up and push her forward. Even her mother didn't understand, and _she_ had also lost her soul mate!

And maddeningly enough, she knew Kisho would agree with them all.

"I can just hear you now, chiding me for sulking when I should be focused on my life, instead. But how, Kisho? How do I focus on a life that was _supposed_ to have _you_ in it? It's not fair..."

She closed her eyes and centered herself, opening up her soul to "see" and glanced down at her finger where the Red String Of Fate was still tied in a neat little bow. Only the other end, instead of connecting to the one being who shared the other half of her soul, just sort of... drifted in front of her and faded into nothing.

She sighed and shook her head, breaking that connection so that the string would disappear. She didn't make a habit of doing it, seeing her String vanishing into nothing like that was scary and disheartening. Since you can only "see" your own Red String and where it attaches to your Soul Mate's, she'd asked her mother what her's looked like after losing her father. She'd been confused.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"Your string... what does it look like now? Mine just... drifts off into nothing. Is that what yours looks like?"

"No, all I have left is the bow it's tied in. The rest of the string disappeared when your father died. That's very strange Kagome."

"What does it mean?"

"I have no idea, dear. You should ask your grandfather."

She was not going to do that. He'd just ramble on about the youth of today not paying attention to their spiritual lessons the first time.

Besides, it probably just meant that she'd be alone until she died and they both reincarnated again.

Joy.

A little bird flew by over head, tweeting a happy tune. His little mate met him in the air above their nest and they circled and chirped around each other. Kagome watched them absently, casting her mind back to simpler times, reliving her brief happiness as close to its source as she could now get.

She'd been friends with Kisho since early childhood. Their fathers worked together and and when they found out their children had been born on the same day, almost the same time, they'd decided to introduce them to each other and see if they would like each other.

Their friendship had been deep and immediate.

They played together as often as the adults in their life would tolerate meeting up. And then when they were old enough to venture away on their own, they would play everyday. They'd heard the adults whispering to each other about the possibility they could be soul mates, but when you have forts to build and invisible dragons to vanquish, adult things like love and marriage are the last thing you want to think about.

Kagome remembered when she'd begun feeling more for Kisho than just friendship. They'd turned 13 and the way he'd blushed and smiled when he'd given her his gift to her made her heart thump strangely.

She kept her secret feelings close. She had a soul mate out there someone, everybody did. Soon she'd be able to find him. There would be no point trying to confess anything to a guy who'd be running off to find his own soulmate soon.

The thought of him with someone else would crush her young heart and she'd cry herself to sleep over it, but what could be done?

At 15, it was time for them to do The Ceremony. They decided to do it together, since they'd done everything else together. The Ceremony consisted of a short ritual with spiritual incense and chanting, and then meditation to open your spiritual senses to see your Red String. The spell, so to speak, would last until you found your soul mate, then it would fade and you'd have to focus and mediate to see it again.

Sometimes your soulmate found you before you needed to do The Ceremony yourself. Often you'd find each other only after you both started searching. It was rare to wait more than a few years after The Ceremony to be with your soul mate.

When they first opened up their minds to "see," they'd been shocked and elated to find that their Red Strings connected... to each other. They caught a quick glimpse, watched their joined String glow brightly, and then fade away.

He gave her a look of such sheer joy and love. She'd never seen someone smile so beautifully.

Later he confessed he'd always dreamed she'd be the one he was tied too. That had started the most blissful two years of her life.

And then he'd been stolen.

He'd bought a new motorcycle despite his mother's harsh protests. He'd had his license only a short time, but he was excited to practice driving it well so he could take her around on it. It made her nervous, but it made him so happy. His chocolate eyes always glowed in the best way when he was happy.

He took it out in the rain, and never made it home.

The pain she'd felt had been so consuming and fierce she thought she might die too.

She thought she still might sometimes.

But she hadn't, she was still here.

She wiped her face and collected her things.

"I'll always love you. _Always_. I'll be back much sooner next time, I promise. Goodbye Kisho."

Kagome placed her things in the basket on the front of her bike, hopped on, and peddled away.

The finger holding her Red String itched.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Kagome felt even worse than she had the previous day.

Her dreams had been dark and heavy, and they had shifted and morphed rapidly from one thing to the next. She couldn't remember a single second of them, but they'd drained any rest she'd managed to get the moment she'd got it.

She may as well have stayed up all night.

And her finger itched like hell.

That was something else that had kept her from truly resting. She woke frequently to scratch at her finger hoping to relieve the itch she felt. It had begun as a soft tickle when she'd left Kisho's grave, and had grown more intense as the day had worn on. She'd examined it closely for a bite or rash or _anything_ to show what was causing it, but her skin was only red and irritated from her scratching. She'd applied creams and sprays and even taken allergy pills and nothing had spared her a second of itch save for placing her hand directly in a bucket of ice.

For obvious reasons, that was not a long term solution.

She peeled herself out of bed and half shuffled, half stumbled to the bathroom.

Maybe a hot shower would help put some pep in her step. She turned the hot water up as hot as she could stand it and pulled out her more expensive soaps, hoping the added luxury would give her that much more sparkle.

It didn't work, so she wrapped her robe around her tired body and blearily walked downstairs for breakfast, resigned to a day of feeling like she'd been hit by a truck physically, mentally and emotionally.

Her mother simply patted her cheek with a sympathetic smile, and Kagome was grateful for no prying questions.

* * *

"Mama? Have you seen Buyo? It's time for him to take his flea pill."

"No Kagome, I haven't. Have you looked outside?" Her mother's voice called from the kitchen where she was making lunch. She hadn't checked in there yet, but if her mother hadn't seen the fat cat the whole while she'd been in there it was a good bet looking would be a waste of time.

"No mama, I was hoping he'd be in here somewhere so I wouldn't _have_ to look outside."

She heard her mother chuckle.

"Check the storage sheds. You know he likes to watch grandpa clean In case he drops something vaguely edible."

"Alright, thanks mama!"

She slipped on her shoes and made her way to the shed she knew her grandfather to be cleaning antique bobbles and sorting old scrolls and documents in. He had his polishing cloth out and rubbed vigorously at an old lacquered box.

"Grandpa, the point of keeping these things is to preserve them. You're going to rub a hole right through it."

"Eh? Oh Kagome! Hello Granddaughter. What's that you said?"

She giggled and gently took the box from him, replacing it on the shelf.

"Only that I think you've polished that one enough."

"Hm.." he eyed it shrewdly before nodding in agreement.

"I suppose you're right. What brings you out here to my shed?"

"Have you seen Buyo? He needs his flea medicine."

"Can't say that I have. He's not in here. You can check the other sheds but mind the merchandise!"

She giggled again, kissed his cheek, and stepped out of the shed to continue her search.

10 minutes later she'd checked the remaining sheds and still had no Buyo.

"Where _is_ that cat? It's like he just knows when it's medicine time!"

" _Mrreow_."

"Buyo?"

" _Mrreow._ "

She stood completely still and strained her ears as he'd as she could. She _knew_ she'd heard-

" _Mrreow_."

"That way!" She whispered to herself and began walking, following the sound of Buyo's voice hopefully to his hiding place."

" _Mrrrrreoooww_."

She could hear it getting louder, could even pick up on the soft rumble of his purr. She was now outside the well house. She circled it, but Buyo was still nowhere to be found.

Suddenly her finger, the one that held both her Red String and the itch from hell, began stinging as if someone had stabbed her with a needle.

"AHH!"

She rubbed at it to soothe it, but it began burning.

" _Grrrrr_ , What is going on!"

" _Mrreow."_

Buyo's voice seemed to be coming from inside the well house now, which made no sense since the door was never opened. She'd have to have someone check the roof for holes.

Feeling fed up with the day before it was even lunch time, Kagome slid the door open aggressively and stomped inside.

"Alright that's it, get out here now Buyo!"

" _Mrreow_."

She gasped and her eyes widened. For all she could tell, Buyo's voice was coming from _inside_ the well, which had an intact covering and layer of dust.

"How..."

" _Mrreow."_

"Don't worry Buyo, I'm coming!"

She hurried over, sliding the wood covering off and coughing and sputtering through the cloud of dust that puffed up in her face.

She leaned way over the side, hoping Buyo's white fur would catch some sort of light.

"Buyo? Buyo!"

She leaned a bit further, but she could see nothing in the utter darkness of the bottom of the well.

"Buyo... Bu- _AAH_!"

Another stinging, stabbing sensation in her finger caused Kagome to startle and lose her grip on the edge of the Well. She tipped forward and fell down into the darkness, squeezing her eyes tight and covering her face to brace for impact.

Buyo ran out from behind the well, out of the well shrine door, and to the house to get his midday meal.

Staring up at a bright blue sky, Kagome wondered if she'd been knocked unconscious after falling in the well. She'd didn't remember any impact, didn't have a headache or sore back or sore _anything_ really. There had been lights and the feeling of floating but surely that had been a concussion dream or something... right?

"Wait. Where's the well shrine roof?"

She stood to her feet, brushing dirt from her clothing running fingers through her hair.

She looked around, but couldn't decide if everything still looked the same. The well she'd fell in had been dark.

Vines lined the sides. She tugged on one to test if she could use it to climb out, but she caused the whole woven lot of them to fall over her head instead. She quickly shook them off to avoid spiders and other bugs in her hair, and began to panic.

"Oh no. Oh no oh no. How am I going to get out of here..."

She hoped that whatever happened to the well house while she was unconscious, _'I was unconscious right?_ ' didn't spell anything bad for her family. That they were just in the house or right on the grounds.

_'I guess I'd better yell for help.'_

"Hello? Hello! Is anyone there? Hello! I need some help down here!"

A silhouette filled the top of the well opening and Kagome sighed in relief.

"Well that was fast. I need help, I can't get out!"

A foreign hand reached down swathed in red fabric, but in her need to escape the claustrophobic well she paid no mind to how strange that should seem.

She was pulled out with ease and placed on warm green grass- not dust and dirt.

She gave herself another brush off to remove the little bits of leaf from the tumbling vines.

"Thank you so much, I don't know what I would have done-"

She looked up and her heart stopped beating and her lungs squeezed the rest of the air out of her chest.

Standing in front of her was a face she knew better than her own, looking as shocked and confused as she felt. She clutched at her shirt over head heart and desperately tried to pull in air, feeling the sting of tears behind her eyes.

Her finger immediately ceased burning.

"Kisho?!"

"Kikyo?!"


	3. Chapter 3

Who?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm not-"

"My name is-"

They were speaking at the same time, frantic and completely lost. Kagome put both hands up.

"Alright stop. Hold on."

She looked up at him and took the time to look past the immediate appearance of his face. Gold eyes, not brown. Silver hair, not black. Dog ears?

"You... you aren't Kisho."

"No shit. My name is Inuyasha. And since you definitely ain't Kikyo... then who the hell are you?"

"Kagome..."

They stared at each other in tense silence, suspicion, confusion, curiosity swirling between them. Kagome spoke first.

"Who's Kikyo?"

"No one. Who's Kisho?"

"Everything."

She noticed the ears on his head twitch.

"We have to go."

"What? Why? Where are we going?"

"Away from here. Someone's coming."

Suddenly she was scooped up and nearly flying through the trees. She made herself as small as possible and hid her face in a red clad chest to keep from screaming. Seconds later he set her down, and she let him have it.

"You could _warn me_ next time, jerk!"

"Oh? Did you _want_ to be the next victim of a village mob? Next time I'll just leave you!"

"That's not what I said and you know it!"

She stomped her foot and spun around to walk away when she caught sight of where he'd brought her.

"The Goshinboku. So we're still in Tokyo, then."

"Tokyo? What's Tokyo?"

She turned incredulous eyes on him.

"You don't know _Tokyo_? Do you live under a _rock_?!"

"I don't know, I just woke up yesterday."

"Just woke up _yesterday_?! What does that even mean?!"

"It means I was _asleep_ and then I _woke up_. What are ya, stupid or something?"

"Ok... how long were you asleep."

His eyes were guarded and filled with distrust. There even seemed to be hurt swirling around in their golden depths. He looked away, concentrating on the branches of the Goshinboku.

"I don't know."

She felt her heart constrict.

"What happened to you?"

His expression wavered. She thought he might actually tell her. Then his eyes sharpened and his ears stood straight up.

He leapt the short distance between them, gathered her up, and jumped straight up into the tree. He sat them on the highest branch he could find that would still support them, his hand covering her mouth to keep her from screaming. He looked her deep in the eyes, hoping to convey to her how serious the situation was.

_"Sssshhhhhh."_

She nodded, eyes wide and face pale.

He removed his hand, but she clutched tightly to his arm in her fear of falling.

"I ain't gonna let you fall, stupid."

He whispered in her ear and she could feel his breath against the skin of her neck. She tensed and a chill ran down her spine.

"Stop being so stiff or I might _not_ be able to keep you from falling."

She sagged wordlessly against him, wondering how her life had gone so far to hell so fast. She had no idea where she was, or who this guy was she was now clinging to desperately for fear of death.

The bushes nearby began to rustle and a group of men with all manner of farm tools stepped out into the clearing around the Goshinboku.

"Shit."

Kagome turned to look up questioningly.

"I should not have come here."

She cocked a brow wondering what on earth he could mean. This seemed like a great hiding place to her.

"I'm sure I heard voices this way."

"These woods are so creepy."

"What do you think it was?"

"Look! The yokai is gone from the tree! Inuyasha has awoken!"

"We must tell Lady Kaede immediately!"

They ran off, tools clanging and feet kicking up dust.

Inuyasha sagged behind her after a couple minutes, and she took that as her cue to talk.

"So... you were... _on_ the tree?"

"I was sealed there, with an arrow."

"What did you do?"

"I let my guard down."

"Huh?"

"It don't matter."

"I think it does. You've brought me into the middle of all this, I think I deserve an explanation!"

"I didn't _'bring you'_ into the middle of nothin'! You were cryin' for help in that damn well and I saved your ass! I think _I'm_ the one who deserves an explanation, what the hell were you doing in there?!"

"I... I don't know actually..."

"How do you not know what you're doing in an empty well?"

Kagome took a moment to remember the circumstances leading her to falling down the well in the first place, the complete absence of a floor, suddenly seeing blue skies instead of darkness or dust motes.

"How about I answer a question and then you answer one?"

"Feh!"

"I'm serious! It's obvious we're both dealing with some weird things right now. Maybe we could talk it out and figure it out together?"

She felt him tense again, another puff of his breath as he shushed her once more.

She glanced down and saw an elderly priestess walk through the bushes.

"Ay, I see what ye all mean. Inuyasha has been freed from the seal my sister placed on him. I wonder who was capable of such... hold on..."

He felt a weak spiritual aura poking around at his demonic one. He cursed himself for not hightailing it out of here as soon as those men left.

"Be on your guard men, for he is near, and he is not alone."

"We'll set up a guard at once!"

Once again the clanging of metal farm tools signaled the exit of the men and the priestess. Inuyasha didn't relax this time.

Kagome glanced back behind her. Inuyasha was staring ahead, eyebrows drawn down and eyes almost haunted. She felt her heart constrict again. All evidence so far pointed towards him being a dangerous criminal, worthy of being sealed in sleep to a giant tree, but for some reason she didn't believe she was seeing the real picture.

"We should get out of here."

Whatever spell he was under do to his thoughts was broken. He blinked down at her, and then seemed to notice for the first time that she was essentially sitting in his lap. He blushed a bright, furious red that she found curiously charming, and he gathered her up once again before falling from the tree and landing squarely on his feet. He placed her gently down and then turned his back, stuffing his hands in his voluminous sleeves.

"Um... we can go this way. There's a cave near a waterfall. No one will find us."

"Are we going to walk or are you going to fly me away again?"

He glanced at her and blushed again, his ears laying down on his head. She looked up at them and tilted her head, which made him turn sharply again and begin walking away in the direction he'd indicated.

"We'll walk for now."

"Uh, okay. If that's what you want."

They trekked forward in silence for some time, and Kagome took the opportunity to look around. If she had her bearings right, she knew what this place was _supposed_ to look like if she was back home. But instead of concrete and metal and cars and houses she found trees and trees and trees.

And dirt.

And bugs.

"Can you walk any louder?"

"Huh?" He was glancing over his shoulder at her, a deep scowl on his face. She was bowled over by his likeness to Kisho once again. Kisho had only made such a face a few times in his life, but it was unmistakable.

"Hello?!"

"Oh... I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I _said_ , can you walk any _louder_? They can probably hear you stompin' through these woods all the way back in the village! You've broken every stick we've walked past!"

"I... I didn't notice..."

"Obviously."

"Look it's not like I planned to go on a hike with a stranger today! Give me a break!"

"Just try to be quiet till we get there, alright?"

"Fine."

She wondered if she'd get any cell phone service out here, and then remembered she'd left her phone on her nightstand near her bed.

Great.

She made it five minutes before the quiet was driving her mad.

"Can you just carry me again and let's get this over with?"

"Oh for the love of-"

Quick as she could blink she was slung over his shoulder and flying across the ground, his feet running so fast she could barely see them. She was only slightly miffed at the way he'd chosen to carry her this time.

They made it there in a much more acceptable time frame, but Kagome worried she'd never get the knots out of her hair.

"Gods, did you _have_ to carry me like that?!"

He smirked, "Did you have to be such an annoying wench?"

"Guess you don't want answers to your questions, then," she shrugged, turning to look around at the little cave he'd brought her too. She considered for a moment that this would be a good place to bring someone if you were going to murder them, but she didn't believe that's what he planned to do.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"First... what are you?"

His eyes went wide and vulnerable for the briefest of moments before they became guarded and distrustful again. Kagome wondered if she hadn't started off with the wrong question, but she had to get to the bottom of all of this.

She had to know everything. Starting with her suspicions that she wasn't quite in Tokyo anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

_"What are you?"_

That strange series of words bounced around in Inuyasha's head, over and over as if that's all that existed in his skull.

_"What are you?"_

What was he? She didn't... she didn't _know_? She couldn't tell? Everyone since the day he'd been born could look at him and just tell exactly what he was. It had been his curse in this life, something he could never hide in the light of day. The truth of his simple existence, his shame, it was always evident.

"What?"

She blinked and tilted her head like a confused puppy. He mentally berated himself for the comparison.

"I'm sorry it's just... I've never seen anyone like you before. Do you look like that all the time? Or are you in costume? I know those men said the "yokai was on the tree", and _you_ were on the tree, but... come on, yokai aren't _real_."

Nothing was made anymore clear to him by her explanation. He closed his eyes and inhaled, filling his lungs and holding in the air for a moment before releasing it all in a whooshing sigh.

He opened his eyes again and found hers to be full of concern.

Concern?

"Look I'm not trying to offend you. I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable I just... I need to figure out what's happening."

She was sorry... for making him uncomfortable? He was quickly losing any and all grasp of the situation. And he hadn't had much of a grasp to begin with. He had no idea what to make of the girl standing in the cave with him.

Humans were usually pretty simple. They could tell by looking at him what he was, and they'd either sneer in disgust or runaway in fear. Or they'd feign politeness while stinking of nervousness and anxiety.

This girl was... being genuinely considerate if the lack of fear in her scent was accurate.

"I'm a hanyo. You can't just tell? Everyone can tell..."

"So your ears, they're real?"

"Unfortunately."

"Why is that unfortunate?"

He scoffed and eyed her incredulously.

"Are you serious?"

"I've noticed them twitching around. Now that I know they aren't some elaborate cosplay, it seems they'd be pretty useful. They're kind of cute too."

He blushed and looked away, deciding now would be a good time to ask his question.

"My turn. How did you end up in the well?"

"I don't know how I ended up in that well. The one I fell in was at my own home. Then I was just in that one."

He squinted, trying to make any sense of what she'd just said.

"Alright. Why did you call me 'Kisho?'"

Her face went pale and her scent changed abruptly, filling with sadness and apprehension.

"That's two questions."

"Just answer."

"You look like him. Your face, I mean. He had short, black hair and brown eyes, and boring human ears. But your faces..."

Inuyasha noted her use of the word 'had' and used it along with the sadness gathering thickly around her to draw some conclusions.

"That's why I called you Kikyo. You have similar faces. Her eyes weren't blue or whatever, and she didn't make so many damn expressions. But similar enough."

"I see. This is weird."

"Damn right it is."

"Did you know any of those people out there?"

He looked out of the mouth of the cave, his eyebrows drawing down in thought. He _did_ know one of them, but that fact was causing him a lot of confusion.

"I knew Kaede, the old priestess."

"You did? Well, maybe we could talk to her."

"No, you don't get it. I _knew_ her, yeah, but she was... she was young. The last time I saw her, she was a little girl. She's Kikyo's little sister."

Kagome stared at him with wide eyes, her jaw dropping open as she took a couple steps back.

"You were asleep for _that long_?"

"I'm guessin'"

"Oh my gosh, that's awful."

"It's what I get for bein' stupid."

"What could you _possibly_ have done to deserve that? Did you kill someone?"

"No! Never!"

"Then what?!"

"I don't know, okay?! I didn't know what the hell was going on! I started the day trying to meet Kikyo somewhere to talk about our future and ended the day with her firing an arrow through my heart!"

Kagome gasped, and he could read the sympathy in her eyes. He should hate it, but maybe it felt nice having someone on his side for once.

"And apparently it's been so long that her kid sister is an old woman. Is she the one who broke that stupid spell? Is she dead? I have no idea. I woke up, took the arrow out, prowled around unseen for a while, and then heard you in that well."

"I'm so sorry Inuyasha."

"It ain't your fault.

"Still. That's just... that really sucks."

He supposed that was one way to put it. It did suck being so in the dark about his own life. But the strange girl here with him seemed to be just as lost as him. At least he wasn't alone for once.

She sighed, and he could tell how weary she was. It had started growing late, and the day hadn't exactly been peaceful.

"We should rest for now. I'll build a fire."

She nodded, picked the smoothest cave wall she could find, leaned against it, and closed her eyes to block out the last of the dying evening sun.

He exited the cave, staying in ear shot but going far enough to gather adequate fire wood. He was glad it was nearing summer time, so they wouldn't rely on the fire for warmth, but if this girl had never even seen a yokai before, he had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate how dark it could get out here at night.

He tried not to panic at the idea of having this strange girl he didn't even know camping out with him. He also tried not to run away in shame at how much he'd shared with her. He was not normally one to open up to anyone, ever, but she was right. They were both in a very strange situation, and any knowledge they could swap was valuable.

He hoped they could figure this out and get everything sorted.

He was ready to move on and leave this place and all it's awful memories behind.


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome woke with a stiff neck and spine to find that the sun had set and the sky was dark. From her spot in the cave, she couldn't see if there were any stars out, but she could see that Inuyasha had made good on his promise of a fire. It crackled warm and bright in the center of the cave. It was the only pleasant thing about her current circumstances. She may have gotten an hour or two of sleep, but it didn't help her exhausted body at all. The last day had been the most bizarre day of her life, and now that the world was quiet and her new companion was trying to get his own rest, everything was trying to catch up with her all at once.

Kisho has been gone for two years.

She was still a depressed mess about it.

She fell in a well trying to find her cat.

She was seemingly having the strangest coma dream.

Except it was all apparently real.

She was stranded in some place or time or universe she had no place in, with no idea how she'd gotten there, with a complete stranger with a familiar face and a sad story of his own.

Nothing about him set off any alarm bells, so she felt safe enough. In her limited priestess training she'd received as a shrine daughter, she'd learned how to trust her soul to read auras, or at least get a feel for a person. She wasn't as practiced at it as she could have been, but she was good enough to be a top notch judge of character.

Inuyasha was a bit brash, but he wasn't evil.

She could see him on the other side of the cave, which wasn't all that large.

He appeared to be asleep, his features soft and lit with a warm glow courtesy of the fire.

He looked so much like Kisho at this moment she could hardly breath.

She'd been around a sleeping Kisho enough to know that right now, their resemblance as unmistakable. He was always falling asleep around her. She would tease that he found her boring. He would reassure that he found her presence soothing. It was something she'd loved hearing from him, and it was one of things she'd mourned and missed the most after his passing.

Staring at Inuyasha's sleeping face almost made her believe she had gone back in time.

_'Back in time... back in...hm... maybe that's...'_

His face split suddenly in a wide yawn, and the firelight glinted off a set of sharp, impressive fangs she somehow hadn't noticed before now.

_'Oh my...'_

His eyes slitted open, their golden color glowing and flashing inhumanly with the flames.

She was reminded how different he was.

"What're you staring at?" He asked defensively, still leaning against the cave wall with his arms and legs crossed.

"You have fangs."

His eyes widened a little and his shoulders hunched. He seemed almost self conscious.

"Sorry, I just hadn't noticed yet. So are you like, part neko or something?"

"Hell no! I'm part _inu!_ "

"Oh right! It's even in your name!" She giggled for a moment, but remembered her last line of thought before he'd woken up.

"Hey, do you know what year it is?"

"No. Why?"

"I don't know, I think I have a theory. About where I am."

"Where's that?"

"Tokyo. Just, Tokyo a long time ago."

"Come again?"

"I think... I think I traveled into the past. _My_ past. I mean, I think I'm from the future of this place."

"And just how the hell did you manage that?"

"The only answer I have is that well. I fell in trying to get my cat out. I _thought_ I was unconscious or something from hitting the ground, because I don't remember hitting the ground. What I do remember is floating for a while, and there were all of these glowing lights and stars... and then I was looking at the sun and sky. Which shouldn't have been possible, because the well I fell into is in a shed. And then the way all those men were dressed, how their tools looked, the Goshinboku is smaller, too... is that believable at all?"

"Lotta weird shit happens all the time. Wouldn't surprise me if there was somethin' that could bring someone from a different time. There's some powerful things and people in this world.. that's what brought me here in the first place."

"The well?"

"No, not the well. There were rumors of a powerful piece of jewelry being kept here, something that could grant wishes. I wanted it, so I came here to get it. I found Kikyo instead."

"No jewelry?"

"Nope."

"What did you want it for?"

"I wanted to wish-"

A scream rent the night, and Inuyasha's ears stood straight up on his head. He stood, lifted his nose and took a deep breath, then met her eyes gravely.

"Blood. Something's attacking the village."

"What?! We have to help them!"

"No the hell we don't! They don't want my help, they think _I'm_ the enemy!"

"Well then wouldn't this be a good chance to prove them wrong? Save them and they'll know you're the good guy."

"Keh! I ain't the bad guy, stupid, but that don't make me the good guy either."

He crossed his arms and turned his back to her, staring out into the night.

He was nearly thrown to the ground when she hopped up on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"What the hell!?"

"Just go, Inuyasha! We have to hurry!"

He growled and grumbled under his breath, but took off into the night toward the village.

* * *

Bursting from the tree line several minutes later, Inuyasha took several running leaps until he landed just inside the village, where a few huts burned and a horse had been let loose. The rampaging creature snorted flames and sported large, sharp claws, but didn't otherwise seem to possess any real power or intelligence.

"Be careful Inuyasha. That thing looks nasty."

"Keh! This'll be a piece of cake."

He let her slide off his back before rushing forward, his own claws flashing as he struck out at the clueless demon. He took one arm off and had to dodge a swipe from the other. Kagome watched in awe as he brought down a monster twice his size without braking a sweat. A few swipes and the greatest danger was gone, leaving only flames to extinguish.

He approached her again, flicking blood from his claws.

"That was amazing!"

"That was nothing."

"Are you kidding?! You took that thing down so fast!"

"Because it was weak."

"But it was huge!"

"It was stupid."

"Just let me give you a compliment for goodness sake!"

"I don't need no compliments from you!"

"You stubborn jerk, why do you have to be-"

"Halt!"

They both stopped abruptly, their attention snapping toward the elderly miko hobbling toward them, bow slung across her back. Her one eye flashed sternly, and they readied themselves for defense. But then the glare melted into shocked disbelief and the Miko Kaede stopped in her tracks.

"It can't be... sister Kikyo?! But how?!"

Kagome smiled softly, taking a few steps toward the miko with her hands raised.

"Hello, Kaede-Sama. Inuyasha has told me some things about you. I'm so sorry, but I'm not Kikyo. My name is Kagome. Would you... would you let us explain?"

Kaede eyed them both warily, taking in this strange girls serene aura and Inuyasha's neutral expression.

Experience told her this held ill tidings. But her senses and curiosity told her to take a chance.

"Aye. We shall see what ye have to say. Follow me."


	6. Chapter 6

If Kagome wasn't convinced before that she'd somehow managed to time travel, she was convinced now.

Sitting on the floor of Kaede's little hut, she glanced around and took everything in slowly.

_'It's all so ANCIENT. How did I even get here...'_

"Well child, ye said ye had explanations."

"Oh, right... well, you see... we aren't really sure _what's_ going on. I guess you could say that I'm not from around here. I fell down a well on my family's shrine property and woke up here. Inuyasha helped me out of the well on on _this_ side. I had no way to climb out."

"I see. And Inuyasha, how did ye manage to break my sister's curse?"

"I don't know. I just woke up and pulled the arrow out. Simple as that."

"Hm."

Kaede stroked her chin and eyed them speculatively. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, but he was glaring at Kaede with his arms crossed firmly across his chest.

"I'm sure ye know this, Inuyasha, as ye we're there, but Sister Kikyo is dead."

The ears on top of his head snapped back and sadness filled his aura. Kagome felt her own heart shudder in response. It was a fey feeling, and she rubbed her chest to make it go away.

"She died... that day?"

"Aye. From the wound ye inflicted on her."

"I _never_ put a scratch on her, old hag! Not a single scratch! I never would have!"

His aura was writing in pain and anger. It felt harsh and overwhelming and Kagome wondered why she having so much trouble muting her ability to feel it. Usually she could drown this part of her powers out if she needed to. It was as if his soul was demanding to be seen by her.

Kaede stared at him with a hard glint in her eye, weighing his response.

"I know."

"What?! Then why would you say-"

"I was testing ye, Inuyasha. I know not what sort of feelings ye may harbor towards us or my sister. Ye fell into your sealing slumber believing she'd turned on ye. I simply wanted to know if ye held any feelings of animosity or vengeance."

He glared at the old woman and then huffed in agitation, nodding for her to continue.

"We figured out the culprit behind BOTH of your demise several years after. A very injured man my sister had been tending to in secret had fallen in love with her. Before he could pass on, he gave his body to a hoard of demons and was reborn. I'm sure he planned to sow discord between ye both and take her for himself, but the demons had no plans of being tied to a priestess and killed her instead. He came back looking for that jewel that rumor keeps placing here. We have managed to chase him off, but he's still lurking around somewhere."

"So, that wasn't Kikyo who... it was _him_?"

"Aye Inuyasha. He is a shapeshifter. And a crafty one at that. Tell me, what did ye and my sister plan on doing that day?"

His cheeks burned red and Kagome's brows disappeared into her hairline.

"She said... she said she'd found a spell. One that she could use to make me human. And we could... we could have a normal life."

Kagome couldn't stop her horrified gasp as disgust and disbelief and, oddly enough, guilt pulsed through her.

"She was going to turn you into a _human_?!"

Inuyasha's brow furrowed as he stared at her, confusion painted all over his face.

"Yeah?"

Kagome's heart squeezed in an unexplainable way. She would have been alarmed by it had she been in more normal circumstances.

"But why?" She whispered almost brokenly, and Inuyasha tilted his head to the side as he considered her.

"So we could be together."

"But that's... that's... that's terrible! If you want to _be_ with someone, you don't try to erase _half_ of them!"

Inuyasha's face grew red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, his voice rising over the rapid thumping of his heart.

"Hey, it wasn't her fault I was born this way!"

His words seemed to have the opposite effect he'd intended them to have. She didn't immediately understand and sympathize, didn't grasp the fact that a hanyo and a priestess had no business together, and cleansing him of his demonic blood was the only way to be together. Instead, her eyes and her scent grew ever sadder, and it seemed as if she was seeing straight to the bottom of his soul.

"Yeah? Well it's not your fault, either."

He blinked, his ears laying back down on his head as he allowed her words to filter down through the fuzz that now filled his brain.

That was something he'd always believed about _himself_ , but to have someone else just... get it like that? He'd never, ever received that kind of understanding from another person before, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. He looked away, crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders defensively.

"Kaede-Sama, is such a thing... even possible?"

Kaede glanced at Inuyasha, who still looked pointedly away though one of his ears had perked in their direction, still interested in their conversation.

"I believe I know what spell my sister intended to use on Inuyasha, and no. It would not have worked. I'm sorry to say Inuyasha, but ye need to know the truth."

"Keh. Don't matter now, anyway."

"Indeed it does not." Kaede turned back to Kagome. "Now child, how about ye? Where do ye come from where doorways hide in wells?"

Kagome pulled at a loose string on the pants hem around her ankle, nervous that her only reasonable explanation would be rejected and she'd be chased from this village with torches and pitchforks.

"Um... it's not really _where_ I'm from... so much as when."

"Come again child?"

"I think... I think I might be from the future. The future of this village."

"How would such a thing be possible?"

"I don't know." She shrugged helplessly and Kaede stared deep inter her eyes, searching for truth or a lie or _something_. She felt the old woman's spiritual aura begin delicately prodding at her own and she tried not to cringe away in defense.

"I see. There is a familiar signature in your aura, child. I believe I may be able to give you at least one answer. Whether it will lead only to more questions, only time will tell."

"Familiar... signature?" Kagome felt her heart rate begin to rise and a faint dread set in. For some reason she knew the knowledge about to be imparted to her was going to change everything, and there was no way to stop it.

"I believe, young Kagome, that you may be the reincarnation of my sister."

Her eyes blew wide and her jaw dropped and her heart beat beat so fast and hard she could hear her blood rushing through her ears. She looked over at Inuyasha, who was staring at her with a look of bewildered astonishment before she felt his own demonic aura probing hers. He reared back, apparently finding what he'd been looking for, this 'familiar signature,' and he got up and stalked out of the hut without a word.

Kagome couldn't imagine how he must be feeling, faced with the reincarnation of the woman he'd hoped to build a life with. He probably needed some serious space. She turned back to Kaede, completely unsure where to even go from here.

"Kaede-Sama... are you certain?"

"Oh yes. Most of your aura is your own, Of course. But the core of it, the core of your soul, is much the same. I would recognize it anywhere."

She felt sad and confused, and like she didn't quite fit in her own skin anymore. She wanted a bath and large mug of her mother's tea.

"Well, what now?"

"I know not, child. I know not."

"Ok then," she responded, determination filling her and warming the places in her that had chilled with this recent revelation. "Tell me more about this shapeshifter. Where can we find him?"

She had every intention of trying to get home, but she would glean as much useful information as she could to give to Inuyasha before she departed. She hoped her departure and the death of the man who had tried to ruin his life would give him peace. She hoped he'd find a place to belong and people to accept him as he was.

And she hoped she'd be able to forget him, and this whole strange adventure, and move on with her life.


	7. Chapter 7

Several hours later, after speaking at length to Kaede and asking as many questions she could think of, Kagome set off to find Inuyasha.

She stretched her miko senses out, trying to find the unique signature that was Inuyasha's aura.

_'I've never felt an aura like his. I bet it's his youki.'_

She found it, and followed where it tugged on the edges of her reach. He was sitting high up in the branches of the Goshinboku, his aura writhing with confusion and anger and despair. She felt her heart squeeze in response.

"Inuyasha?"

His ear flicked, and she took it as a sign he could at least hear her, even if she didn't have his full attention.

"Um, I'm going to try and go home now. I think I might be able to just jump back through the well..."

He continued to stare ahead, no response, no flicker of understanding on his features.

"I talked with Kaede-Sama some more. I have lots to tell you before I leave..."

His continuously stony expression was beginning to concern her. Could a hanyo suffer from shock?

"So... could you come down so I can tell you? The sooner you know, the sooner I can go. My mother must be awfully worried, and I'm sure you'll be happy to be rid of me, considering..."

He dropped from the tree, landing with a solid thunk feet first right in front of her. He rose from his crouch and eyed her, the faintest hints of emotion- curiosity and confusion- filtering back into his expression.

"Considering what?"

Kagome clutched her racing heart, exhaling harshly and glaring at him for a moment for startling her so badly. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Well, it's just... I'm..."

"Yes?"

"Her reincarnation! That has to be difficult for you."

He tilted his head, expression a little lost, as if he didn't quite get what she meant.

"It's a little weird, but why would it be difficult?"

She floundered for a moment.

"You can't be serious. You just found out the woman you were going to evaporate half of yourself for is dead and that her reincarnated soul is walking around in a different body with a similar face. How is that _not_ difficult? You don't... _see_ her when you look at me?"

He snorted, amusement suffusing his aura and leaving Kagome completely baffled.

_'What could possibly be funny about any of this?'_

"Do I _see_ her when I look at you? Maybe at first. You look enough alike. But you don't _act_ nothin' like her, and you certainly don't _smell_ nothin' like her."

"You've been smelling me?" Her eyebrow twitched and she crossed her arms self consciously. He smirked in a most infuriating way.

"I smell everything wench, I don't get a choice."

"Oh yeah, the Inu thing. So.. you're sure you're fine?"

"I don't know about fine, but I ain't got a problem with you. What's that name you called me? Don't I look like someone _you_ lost? That mean you want _me_ to run off and disappear?"

She studied his features again. She hasn't stood this close to him yet, not in a way that left her time to really see him while awake.

He did resemble Kisho. A lot. But like she and Kikyo, he didn't act like Kisho. He carried himself differently and spoke differently. And his aura felt completely unique, lacking that 'familiar signature' Kaede had spoken of. No, she didn't need him to disappear. In fact, she found his shockingly familiar face almost comforting.

"Good point. You resemble Kisho too, but you're nothing like him, either. This is so weird."

"Keh. So what did the old bat have to say?"

She giggled at his rude nickname and sat down to fill him in.

* * *

"You sure jumpin' in there is a good idea?"

Inuyasha stared down into the dark, dusty depths of the Bone Eater's Well with a sinking suspicion that this was not going to work out the way she hoped.

"It's the only idea I have. I just need you to hang around long enough to make sure I don't need help out, then you're free to go do... whatever it is you're going to do."

"Keh. Crazy wench. Alright, let's see if this works."

Kagome sat on the edge of the well structure, legs dangling as she peered inside, and took a deep breath. She pushed off, fell quickly into the darkness, and landed with a painful thud on her backside onto the packed dirt.

"Ooooowwww."

"Oh, you still in there?"

"Very funny. Help me out, I need to try again!"

On her second attempt, Kagome attempted to land a little less painfully, just in case.

By her fifth attempt, she began to feel the beginnings of panic creeping into her heart.

Just before throwing herself over for her tenth attempt, sobs wracking her body, Inuyasha grabbed her and held her tightly to his chest, holding firm through her lashing and squirming.

"Let me go! I have to make it work! I have to get home!"

"I ain't letting your kill yourself in that thing, Kagome. You're lucky you haven't been hurt yet with as many times as you've jumped in that stupid thing!"

"But... But... my home, my family!"

"Would probably rather you be _alive_ here than _dead_ trying to get back!"

She gasped, her crying silenced for a moment as his words sank into her mind. He loosened his hold and she sank to the ground.

"Alive... _here?_ "

Inuyasha sat next to her, regarding her warily.

"Yes. You think they'd want you to break your skinny neck jumping in a well that ain't gonna work again like it did the first time?"

"Alive... here..."

"Are you listening?"

"But... but I can't live here! There's no air conditioning! No hot baths! No... no mama..." tears began tracking down her cheeks again, and Inuyasha, completely lost on how to handle a crying girl, decided to just give her the consideration she'd given him earlier; he sat quietly by and gave her time to process.

"I can't believe I'm stuck here. I don't... Inuyasha, what am I going to _do?_ "

Her eyes pleaded with him, her voice desperate, her scent completely bitter with despair. He felt a strange, unshakeable need to make it better, to solve her problem, to protect her.

_Protect her._

He said the first thing that came to him without thought for how it might affect him later. A first. He'd always thought of himself before anything else. It was basic survival.

"Come with me."

Her drenched blue eyes closed and she sighed a wet, shaky sigh, a few more tears leaking down her face.

She opened them and, for a moment, he felt regret that they were duller than usually were.

"Okay."


	8. Chapter 8

"You sure you know how to use that thing?"

Kagome's brow twitched in annoyance and her fists tightened around the bow she'd been examining.

"Yes, Inuyasha. For the 800th time, I _know_ how to use a bow."

Kaede has been very generous, giving Kagome an extra bow and quiver, along with a set of Miko robes to wear in place of her future garments. They were easier to travel in. She'd also made up a travel pack with a few rations, but Inuyasha assured them he'd be able to hunt plenty so she didn't need to bother with more.

They'd set out on a journey to find this mystery shapeshifter and rid the world of him, gaining vengeance for Inuyasha and her predecessor Kikyo in the process.

Inuyasha had cast endless glances at her bow and made multiple remarks since they'd set out and it was getting beyond annoying.

"Keh! If you say so. That thing ain't a toy, though. It's a _real_ weapon."

"For the last time, I've taken archery lessons! I won't win any competitions but I can aim and hit a target for Kami's sake!"

"Fine, fine! I'm just makin' sure! I ain't babyin' you if you shoot your eye out!"

"You know, I think your just jealous that _you_ don't have a weapon."

He snorted and crossed his arms, sticking his nose up in the air.

"Keh! As if I'd be jealous of that piece of shit. I got ten weapons on each hand, wench."

She snickered, enjoying how easy he was to rile up.

"That's what I'd say if I was jealous that I didn't have a weapon."

" _FEH!_ "

She caught him glancing at her again, a strange look on his face and for a moment she thought he would ask about the bow again, before she realized what he was really looking at.

"Does it make you uncomfortable that I'm wearing this?"

She gestured to the miko robes she was wearing, fully aware that it must make her look a great deal more like her preincarnation.

"Nope."

He looked resolutely ahead, arms crossed in his sleeves.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Because you can tell me if you're uncomfortable."

"I ain't uncomfortable."

"I mean there's not much I can do about it now, but if you wanted to talk about it..."

"There ain't nothin' to talk about."

"Are you sure? Because you seem uncomfortable. You don't have to hide-"

"Holy _HELL_ woman! I said I'm _FINE!_ "

Kagome giggled at his outburst, leaving Inuyasha to gape like a fish where he'd stopped on the path they took. She clutched her middle and bent forward and Inuyasha was certain he'd never met someone with a worse sense of humor.

"Just what the hell do you find so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. You're too quiet."

"This ain't a vacation. It's vengeance."

"But that doesn't mean it has to be so _boring_. I bet you could take this guy out in a second, just like you did that ugly thing in the village. And then just like Kaede said, you'll be welcome to live there as a protector! And maybe by that time the well will open again."

Inuyasha was, admittedly, a bit touched by her confidence, though he wasn't quite sure he agreed that this would be such a quick and easy task. Most of his attention was on her mention of the well, and her hope and intention of going back through to her family. Some vague distant part of him worried how she would react to it never opening again, but he brushed it off. They'd both be better off if she went back. He'd never met any living being who could chatter as endlessly as this girl did, and he spent a considerable amount of time in trees with _birds_. He rolled his eyes and tried to drown out her babbling, but she was determined not to be ignored.

"Ugh, you're doing it again!"

"Doing what again?"

"Ignoring me!"

"Ain't heard anything worth listening too yet. "

"Don't you ever just talk at all? It'll make the time go by faster!"

She skipped in front of him and turned to walk backwards to remain facing him, clasping her hands together up under her chin and turning on her most pitiful, puppy dog pout in her arsenal of manipulation.

He stopped and stared down at her in disbelief. Her blue eyes shimmered and her bottom lip poked out and she... did she just _whine_ like a pup? He felt his will and determination falter he scowled in irritation at himself.

_'Damnit. What the hell is wrong with me.'_

He rolled his eyes up toward the sky and heaved a big, exaggerated sigh, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Alright _fine_. Was there somethin' in particular you wanted to... _talk_ about?"

Her answering smile was far too sweet and he felt it pierce right through his heart. He wasn't sure he'd ever been the recipient of a smile like that.

' _Damnit again.'_

"Yes! I have so many questions!"

"Yippee."

"Oh hush, just humor me, will you?"

He sighed again but made no more verbal complaints. He would much rather make this journey in silence, but for some odd reason, talking to this girl made her happy, and while making someone happy hadn't ever been anything very important to him, he could admit to himself that happiness made her scent bright with the smell of sakura, and it made her aura wash around them in calm pulses that he found more soothing than he thought possible.

He also had to admit it wasn't half bad answering a bunch of questions about the fights he'd been in, either. So he would 'humor her' as she'd said. He'd just be sure to cash in this little favor later, whether she liked it or not.

_'Tomorrow. I'll make her shut it tomorrow.'_

* * *

Kagome has quieted down considerably by the time they made camp.

They'd investigated the cave Kaede told them Kikyo had discovered the injured man in. His name had been Onigumo, a bandit suffering from massive burns and knocking on death's door. She thought it might be a starting point in the event that he sheltered there.

The cave had been empty of all but a bunch of bugs and some animal bones.

They then traipsed through some forest for a while, perhaps just hoping he'd pop out from behind a bush and save them a whole lot of effort.

Then Kagome suggested they just wait around at the village to see if he came back, but Inuyasha didn't do well "sitting around and waiting," so he'd squashed that suggestion.

And now the sun was down and Kagome, unused to walking so far in one day, had been unable to go any further, so they'd set up a camp and she was trying to sleep on the hard ground with the thin, scratchy blanket Kaede had been able to spare.

He sat up in a tree at the edge of their circle of firelight and glanced down at her shivering form. Her sleep was fitful, the cold, hard ground leaving her to toss and turn to find a comfortable position to rest in. She frowned and Inuyasha had no doubt she was having unsettling dreams. As the day had worn on, her sparkling attitude had grown darker, and her chatter had ceased as she'd turned inward, keeping her thoughts to herself. Apparently her good mood after finding her way home blocked had been very, very temporary.

She let out a pitiful whine and mumbled something in her sleep and Inuyasha found himself out of the tree and kneeling next to her before he'd realized what he was doing.

He couldn't let her stay like this.

He pulled the ratty blanket away, rolled it up, and very carefully placed it under her head. Then he removed his fire rat suikan and covered her with it. She curled up under it and let out a shuddering sigh before settling more deeply into sleep.

Inuyasha ignored how much effort it took to tear his eyes away.

He turned, hopped back up on his branch, and tuned back into the sounds of the forest to keep watch.


	9. Chapter 9

_Alone in a dark cave, cold, shivering and miserable, Kagome closed her eyes and tried to ignore the evil things she could feel creeping up around her. They had names that they whispered harshly to her:_

_Despair. Anguish. Hopelessness. Loneliness._

_She felt what was left of her soul quake in fear and resignation. How could she fight such an onslaught of darkness with only half of her soul as protection?_

_Just as she was about to give in and be swallowed by her sorrow, a warm, gold light enveloped her, chasing away the nasty things trying to consume her and keeping them at bay. She looked up and to the side, eyes going wide at the sight that greeted her._

_Kisho. Warm and bright and alive, the sweetest smile on his face. With one hand he held a flickering candle that cast a corona of light that surrounded them both, with the other, he held a thick red blanket._

_He set the candle down and spread the blanket over her shoulders. She clutched it to her, the chill in her bones finally beginning to recede. Kisho began to walk back into the darkness and she felt a desperation fill her._

_"Wait!"_

_He turned back around, concern on his face as he came back and took a place at her side within the candle light. He smiled reassuringly and she leaned against him, feeling safe and complete for the first time in ages._

_"I've missed you. I've missed you so much."_

_She felt his fingers brush through her hair and she closed her eyes and sighed. She'd missed that too._

_"Silly wench."_

_Her brow quirked. He'd never called her that before._

_She glanced up at him in confusion. His eyes danced with secret mirth, his fingers never ceasing their gentle ministrations in the loose strands of her hair._

_"What?"_

_His grin spread and the candle light flashed in his deep brown eyes, giving them a honeyed look that tugged at something in her memory._

_"Silly wench. I've never been far from you. I never will be."_

_"What do you mean? Kisho, where are you? I can't... I can't feel you anymore."_

_He cupped her face in his hands and stared lovingly in her eyes._

_"I'm right here."_

_His brows furrowed and his voice grew serious._

_"Kagome, I'm right here."_

_Confusion filled her. She brought one of her hands up to clasp his. It felt so familiar that it nearly broke her._

_"Kisho..."_

_"Kagome, it's me. I'm right here."_

_"I know, I know I can see you."_

_"Kagome! Kagome, I'm here. Wake up, Kagome!"_

_"Wa...wake up? I..."_

_"Kagome! Kagome I'm-"_

"-right here. Wake up!"

Kagomes eyes popped open as she gasped, her lungs filling abruptly with sticky morning air.

A pair of concerned, nearly frantic golden eyes filled her vision, and she was holding one of the clawed hands that cradled her face.

"Inu... Inuyasha?"

He huffed out a breath and sat back, releasing her face. She sat up and and felt something slip from her shoulder. She looked down and saw a thick red fabric pooling on her lap. She noticed he wasn't wearing his jacket.

"What happened?" His voice was rough and his nerves seemed frayed and she couldn't figure out why.

"What..."

"You were crying. And your aura was all over the place. You're a miko, so it was kind of uncomfortable..."

"I was... crying?"

"Yes."

She remembered where she'd been before she woke, the dark cave and Kisho's soothing company.

"I had a weird dream..."

"Keh. Well, if you're alright now, we should get goin'"

"Okay. Yeah I'll just... I'll get up." She stood and shook out his jacket, taking a moment to look closely at the red fabric. Something about it settled strangely in her soul.

She handed it to him with a grateful smile.

"Thank you for letting me sleep with this, Inuyasha. It's very warm. I hope you weren't too cold."

The barest Of blushes touched his cheeks and he quickly turned away.

"Keh. I ain't like you weak humans. The cold don't bother me."

He pulled it on and kicked dirt over the fire while Kagome repacked the small bag Kaede had spared them.

As they left the clearing, a voice whispered to her on the wind, stopping her in her tracks.

_"I've never been far... I never will be."_

Inuyasha glanced back at her just then to see what was keeping her.

"You comin', wench?"

She gasped, a sense of deja vu and premonition settling over her.

Wide eyed, she nodded slowly and took a tentative step forward. It was a simple gesture, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it meant something much more immense.

"Yeah. I'm coming."

"Well come on then, we're burnin' daylight."

She rolled her eyes and followed after him, her soul feeling a bit more at peace than it had in years.


	10. Chapter 10

After the emotionally charged morning after waking her from her nightmare, Inuyasha didn't look directly at her for days.

Anytime he needed to address her, it was with blushing cheeks, averted eyes, and as few words as possible. She tried several times to draw him into conversation, but he'd either grunt absently or ignore her all together.

She'd be offended by his rude social manners if it wasn't for his kind gestures.

Every night without a word he'd shrug out of his red fire rat robe, as he'd called it, and hand it to her to curl up under and keep warm.

She thanked him softly and sincerely every time, and he blushed without fail.

He vehemently brushed off any and all of her attempts to ensure that _he_ wasn't going cold at night at her expense, something about weak humans and strong half demons.

When they traveled, he seemed to just know when she was growing tired of the endless walking, and he'd stop so she could climb on his back. He also made sure to try and find some shade to walk under at the warmest part of the day.

He built a fire and hunted every night.

He found plenty of streams of cool water to drink from.

He even foraged for berries and things to go with their dinners.

He was... _taking care of her._

And doing a splendid job of it.

She'd tried to mention it to him, but he blushed again and sputtered that she was being a dumb, sentimental human.

He was the strangest person she'd ever met, dog ears and fangs notwithstanding.

She wondered if he'd ever really had any friends before if this was how he reacted to someone trying to pay him a compliment. He'd been ready to change himself completely for this Kikyo person she'd apparently been in a past life, but what had their relationship really been like if he was still so skittish around someone just trying to be nice?

If he thought he was convincing her that he didn't have a kind, gentle side, then he was only fooling himself. She'd seen it. His words may have been harsh lately, but he was... _so kind_ to her.

She'd just have to prove to him that she didn't mean him any harm.

She looked around the forest they were currently traipsing through, watching little birds flitter through tree branches. Bits of sunlight streamed through and dappled the forest floor, breaking up the shadows with warm, yellow beams where little clumps of flowers grew here and there. It was beautiful, and she was actually enjoying it. It had been so long since she'd been able to simply take in the scenery and really appreciate since Kisho had passed.

A dull ache throbbed through her soul at the thought of his name, and Kagome rubbed her hand over her heart and wondered.

A _dull_ ache.

Thoughts of her lost soul mate used to send wave after crushing wave of grief slicing through her until she could hardly breathe.

But it seemed like the longer she stayed here in this time, the less his memory felt like an anvil strapped to her chest.

She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Another strange thing she wondered about was the seeming lack of other people. She'd not seen a single other person since they'd left the village. She wondered if Inuyasha was purposely keeping them away from everyone else.

_'He probably doesn't like people. But maybe someone else has seen this guy and can tell us where he is.'_

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha blinked and shook his head to try and clear it of the maelstrom inside it that had been plaguing him. He took in a deep breath of fresh air and immediately regretted it.

It was her _scent._

Her scent constantly filled his nose.

Every night that she slept with his fire rat or he let her ride on his back she renewed the strength of her scent on him. It hovered over him like a storm cloud.

This wouldn't be a problem, except she smelled _so good_ he could scarcely concentrate on anything else, like the tiny, teasing hints of a strange _something_ that he'd been trying to follow these last several days.

It was getting ridiculous.

He didn't need to be this distracted by Kikyo's reincarnation of all people when he was trying to gain vengeance _for Kikyo!_

_'But she's so different. She smells so different.'_

She smelled _better_ , which he would have denied being possible when Kikyo was alive, but it was true.

And it was maddening.

_'She's just a dumb girl, she's just a dumb girl, she's just a-'_

"Inuyasha!"

' _Ah, Hell.'_

"What?" he answered as he turned to her, bewildered and agitated.

"What has you so distracted? I've been trying to get your attention for ten minutes!"

He could feel his ears snap back against his hair, evidence of his discomfort and he cursed the traitorous little bastards.

"I'm uh... tracking a scent."

"A scent?"

"Yes. There's something weird in the air. I'm trying to follow it."

"Oh! So you _do_ know where we're going. That's a relief."

He shot her a look, but her little teasing smirk and sparkling blue eyes made him face forward again, gaze set firmly on the trees and _not_ on her.

_'Just a dumb girl, just a dumb girl.'_

He startled so bad at the feel of her hand on his arm that he wished he could kick his own ass for his weakness.

"Are you alright Inuyasha? You've been acting strange lately. Do we need to stop and rest? Are you sick?"

Suddenly she was leaning up on her tip toes, her hand brushing the hair at his forehead back so she could feel for a fever. She was too close and her scent was too strong so he stepped back abruptly, cheeks aflame.

She stumbled forward at his quick retreat and he cursed himself at how quickly he caught her to keep her from falling to the rough sticks and leaves of the forest floor.

"Sorry Inuyasha, I didn't mean to... I know you don't like me getting close... I was just worried."

He didn't know what to do with this girl. So far she defied every single expectation he'd come to have when interacting with humans. He stared at her in obvious confusion and she tilted her head, plainly trying to figure him out.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "You were... worried?"

Her brow furrowed and her lips turned down in a tiny frown.

"Yes. Is that so weird? I mean, we're friends right? I always worry about my friends."

Inuyasha's brain slowed to a crawl.

"We're... friends?"

" _Yeeesss._.. unless you don't... _want_ to be my friend?"

The dawning look of sadness on her face settled inside him and felt like poison. He could _not_ let her feel like that.

"No it's... ok. We can be.. friends."

Her smile lit up her whole face and made her eyes shimmer. He quickly turned his back to her and began walking in the direction of that weird scent again, determined to focus on their mission once and for all.

_'Just a dumb girl, just a dumb girl. Just a dumb-'_

Her hand slipped into his and she gave his fingers a quick squeeze.

"Thanks Inuyasha."

She let go, adjusted the strap on her quiver, and started humming something happy as she marched on beside him.

His heart stuttered and he felt an impending doom come to rest on his shoulders.

_'Shit.'_


	11. Chapter 11

After her little touchy-feely-mushy-friendship outburst that had left Inuyasha in a near daze the rest of the day, Kagome had blessedly decided to give him a bit of space.

But just a bit.

And he desperately needed space from her.

Her scent constantly in his nose had been hard enough, but she had continued giving him discreet touches on his hand or shoulder here and there, and she was always smiling sweetly when she spoke to him.

It was maddening.

She did not act at all like literally every other person in the world, including Kikyou, had acted toward him in his life.

Kikyou had softened toward him over time, but it had taken _time_. He hadn't known Kagome near as long.

He didn't know what her game was.

Something in him tried to reason that she was just nice. That maybe she liked him, and had meant what she'd said about being friends with him.

But then the other part of him warned him that no one was just nice to a hanyou, and the last time he'd gotten comfortable with someone he'd ended up sealed to a damn tree for half a century.

All in all, he was suspicious, heartsick and irritable. He was taking it out on her more than he'd like to, but he couldn't help it. And she didn't seem deterred either.

He felt her arm slip around his and it yanked him out of his dark, brooding thoughts.

"Are we any closer to that scent you said you smelled?"

Kagome blinked curiously up at him, eyes all shimmery and blue and sincere, her scent refogging his head and he felt her question slip right out of his mind.

A storm blew through his heart as he stared at her, taking in every inch of her almost=familiar-but-not-quite face.

He'd been honest with her when he'd told her that her being Kikyo's reincarnation didn't bother him.

It didn't.

But it was a little confusing sometimes. She'd make a face that Kikyo had made, or she'd chuckle softly about something, voice quiet and slight, and it was like he'd been punched in the gut right back through time.

But those moments were fleeting, and all in all she was unique and different and _strange_ in ways that seemed to be tying him in knots that would do him no good so he tried desperately to just ignore all of it.

But it was getting harder.

She was... _intriguing_.

"Ahem."

He blinked and felt his face grow warm.

Mirth sparkled in her gaze and a smirk tilted her mouth.

"Were you listening to me?"

"Uh... huh?"

She giggled.

It sounded so bright and easy and carefree.

Had anyone ever been knowingly in his presence and felt that way?

"I _said,_ are we getting clos- hey! What are you doing?!"

Suddenly he yanked her behind him as a new scent filtered past his distraction.

Being surrounded by _her_ and straining to lock into a distant, foreign scent had meant the smell of danger had slipped by his defenses.

"Stay behind me."

She peeked around his shoulder with a pouty frown on her face but stopped cold at his thunderous scowl.

"I said- _stay behind me_."

"I... ok."

He nodded and stepped resolutely in front of her.

"If I were you wench, I'd had have that little bow of yours ready.

"Got it."

Rustling in the trees ahead and the noise of laughter was their only warning.

A mismatched pair of yokai stepped into view, red eyes glinting and grins wicked.

"Well well well, what have we here? A _half-breed_ soiling the clean air of my forest with his wretched scent." A handsome yokai with shining blue hair crossed his arms over his chest and stared Inuyasha down with a gleeful, predatory air.

The second yokai, looking more like a lizard person and much less human, hissed out a reptilian laugh.

"Yeah boss, and he's got a _friend_."

"Does he? What have you got there, half breed?"

Inuyasha growled a low, harsh growl that rumbled through Kagome who'd pressed herself against his back when the new demons had mentioned her. Despite his less than human appearance, it could be hard to remember that Inuyasha could be very dangerous. He seemed like such a puppy.

His dark warning growl was a stark reminder that his fangs and claws were real, that he'd probably lived through things she could never imagine.

"Nothing of mine is any concern of yours. We're just passing through, we didn't know this territory belonged to anyone. We'll just be on our way."

He tried to back them away and out of the little clearing their current showdown was in, but Kagome's feet tangled themselves up in some invisible thread and she fell over into the dirt and line of sight of the enemy Inuyasha had been trying to shield her from. Her bow and arrow clattered to the ground next to her.

"Fucking hell, wench."

She scrambled back up, but the handsome demon on the other side of the clearing appeared in front of her faster than she'd ever seen anyone move. He crowded her personal space, looking her up and down and taking an appreciative sniff.

"A _miko_! A surprising companion for a hanyou indeed."

He lifted her hand and Inuyasha bristled, growling louder and harsher. She met his eyes and tried to tug her hand away, but the demon used his other hand to gently move her face back toward his.

His gaze was concerned and genuine, startling her out of her struggle.

"Miss, are you alright? Are you safe? Has this mongrel kidnapped you away from your village?"

His words were soft and kind, but something in his aura and the firm grip of his fingers around hers set off alarm bells. Her cheek under his palm itched and then his insult to Inuyasha, who'd done nothing to deserve any such ire, registered and her anger soared.

She stomped his foot with all her meager might. It startled him enough that he released her and she jerked away from him.

" _No_. He did no such thing. Inuyasha would never do anything like that!"

The demon smirked and all sweetness bled from his crimson eyes.

"I see. So it's you who's bespelled him then. The kind miko took pity on the loathsome half dog and chained him in service. Well, whether he's taken you or you've taken him makes no difference to me. He's in my land, and he deserves nothing."

She gasped as a solid arm locked around her waist and then she was airborne.

She'd been _kidnapped._ For what reason? They didn't like that Inuyasha was half human?

She watched his red-clad form grow distant and small below her and panic chilled her blood.

Despite not being able to force a single muscle in her body to move, she heard her voice scream.

She hoped it would be enough.

She hoped he would find her.

_"INUYASHA!"_


	12. Chapter 12

She was in a cage.

_A CAGE._

"First these jerks yank me away from the only friend I have in this stupid time period and now they've got me stuffed in a rusty cage like some sort of damsel in a dramatic manga."

Kagome crossed her arms in a huff and closed her eyes. She leaned her head back on one of the rough metal bars and sighed.

"I hope Inuyasha comes for me soon. I bet he's strong enough to bust me out of here."

That he _would_ come was not a question.

Somehow she knew he would.

"Though he seems awfully uncomfortable around me. I know he said it doesn't bother him that I look like that Kikyo woman, but maybe it does."

She sighed again, a feeling of melancholy settling into her heart as her thoughts turned more fully toward her strange new companion.

She knew her behavior towards him was something he wasn't used to. She tried to be as casual as she could around him, treat him as she treated all of the other people she cared for, but he always seemed startled and unsure how to respond.

_'Has he really been that starved for affection that he doesn't even know how to just BE around someone?'_

She thought of the harsh things that one yokai had said, calling him a mongrel and a half breed, stealing her away just to hurt him.

Her heart throbbed.

People could be so cruel.

She looked around the empty camp she'd been left in and hoped Inuyasha would hurry and find her soon.

* * *

It must have been much later in the evening than she'd realized when she'd been taken. The sun went down so quickly, leaving her alone and shivering in the dark.

"Dang. I'd give anything for that red shirt Inuyasha always lets me sleep with."

She curled up in the corner of her cage as small as she could and drew her arms into the sleeves of her white kosode of her miko garments. She tried to concentrate on the light coloring to give herself something to actually see in the ungodly darkness of the forest, but her eyes kept being drawn away, past the bars of her prison and out into the night. It was exceptionally creepy. She felt the need to 'keep watch,' just in case something tried to sneak up, but she couldn't make out a single thing in this heavy darkness.

It began closing in on all sides, pressing on her chest and crushing her lungs. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to breath, but the immense weight of the sheer darkness of the night and the helplessness of her present situation settled like rocks in her gut and allowed little room for oxygen.

A memory came unbidden.

A flicker in black hopelessness.

A set of warm, familiar eyes.

 _Kisho_.

Her dream with him in the cave, where he'd comforted her and broken up the thick night with safety and light.

She kept her eyes closed in her cage and reveled in feeling safe and whole.

She still remembered every centimeter of his face, the way his arms felt, how real he'd been in the nightmare cave.

But something was off about this memory.

His smile was less sweet and a touch more smug. And was that a fang peeking over his lip? A blink, and his shaggy black hair was silver, his eyes now gleaming gold.

She startled out of her half dream, blinking her eyes and trying again to futility adjust to the darkness.

A flash of gold and silver, something to focus on.

It was him, he was there.

"Inuyasha!"

He gave her a harsh scowl and shushed her. She wanted to cry in sheer joy and relief.

Her jaw dropped as he effortlessly bent the bars of her cage. She threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest and locking her arms tightly around his back.

He was so _warm._

"I knew you'd come for me! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Stupid. You're freezing!" He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her close and she drew her arms in and snuggled up in the trapped body heat between them.

Warmth seeped back into her skin and she breathed clearly again. She hummed in contentment.

"You're like a space heater."

"A what?"

She leaned back enough to meet his glowing eyes.

"Nothing. Just get me out of here. It's creepy."

The sound of sticks breaking underfoot caught their attention and voices drifted out of the darkness on the other side of the clearing.

"So what are we gonna do with her boss? We gonna eat her?"

"We might. She ain't half bad looking for a human though. We could probably sell her."

"Oh come on boss, let me eat her! She's probably good and scared after being left all alone in the dark."

Kagome wanted to scream, but Inuyasha breathed out a quiet _"hush"_ in her ear. His breath fanned out across the back of her neck and goosebumps erupted over her arms again. She suspected the cold had little to do with them this time.

She was reluctant to let go of her hold on the front of his suikan with her very limited night vision and felt relieved when he slowly backed them away and hid behind a nearby tree. He pressed his back to it and closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side and listening intently to the voices making camp just feet away. Kagome huddled close, heart thumping wildly, wishing they could simply run away and never look back, but she knew these yokai were fast, and Inuyasha didn't seem to think just running was a good idea or he would have already had them airborne.

He glanced back down at her and shook something off of his shoulder.

He held it out to her but it took her a moment to figure out what it was with so little light.

It was a horrible time for a waning moon and cloudy skies.

_'My quiver!'_

She stepped back from him for the first time since he'd broken her from the cage and took her weapon. His suikan settled over her shoulders and he bent down to whisper in her ear again, causing a fresh wave of chills.

"Stay warm or you won't shoot for shit."

She met his serious gaze with wide eyes, hoping her blush wasn't totally evident. She nodded and slipped her arms through the wide, crimson sleeves and he turned from her to watch her kidnappers. They were bound to notice she was gone soon.

A fire bloomed in the center of the camp and Kagome fumed. How easy would that have been to do before they left her all alone in that cage?

"If we can get a good price for her from one of those human collectors, then eating her would be pointless."

"Oh please boss! I haven't had human in so lo-"

"Wait. Where did she go?"

She felt Inuyasha's hand grip her waist. He pulled in between him and the tree and she shuddered when his breath hit her neck again.

_'Damn I wish he'd stop doing that.'_

"Now's the time to prove you can really use that thing, wench."

She glared back at him and he smirked, a fang peeking over his lip that brought back the altered memory of her dream she'd had while still in her cage. Her heart gave a strange, painful thump.

She ignored it, pulling an arrow from her quiver to make ready with a just-in-case shot.

"I can smell that mangy half dog. He must have snuck in while we were out. They went this way."

"They're coming. Get behind me and do exactly as I say."

Normally being bossed around would have her temper bristling, but she was smart enough to concede control here. She had _no idea_ how to fight anyone, even her archery skills had been honed for mostly ceremonial purposes. Inuyasha had definitely seen his fair share of battle. She would have to trust him to get her through this.

He crouched in front of her in a defensive stance and the two demons rounded the tree and stood before them, anger burning in red eyes.

"So, you've got enough dog in that snout to sniff us out after all, half breed. Give us the girl back and we'll let you live."

"Hell no. I'll be taking the wench and leaving. You can let us go or you can die."

They threw their heads back and laughed, the more reptilian yokai hissing out some lizardy sound of amusement instead of a throaty chuckle.

She really wanted to know what type of yokai these guys were.

"It is nice to dream, isn't it mutt?"

"I've been underestimated by demons stronger and smarter than you two dumbasses. I think I like my odds here just fine."

The handsome face of the humanoid yokai twisted in rage, his hands balling into fists.

"Seems we need to teach you a lesson, then."

He launched himself forward with a hiss, and Inuyasha answered with a snarl and leapt forward to meet him in a tangle of claws and youki.

He was an old hand at this, and had enough of his wits about him to keep half an eye on Kagome, who'd begun backing away as the lizard yokai advanced slowly on her.

She was panicking.

He tossed a youki attack of sharp, glowing crescents from his claws, taking his opponent by surprise.

"Wench _now_ would be the time to shoot!"

"K-Kay!"

She lined up her shot, hands shaking and nerves frazzled. The lizard crouched, prepared to jump. He licked his thin, reptilian lips and Kagome released her arrow before she was ready, but panic had consumed her and driven her to action.

With a bright flash the yokai turned to dust on the ground. She stared at the glittering pile in horror and confusion.

The sounds of fists and claws and swearing a few feet away grew to a crescendo. She didn't hear Inuyasha finishing off the other demon in her stupor.

He hopped away from his defeated foe and landed next to her with a thump. She startled and met his eyes, turmoil swimming in her own.

"What's wrong wench?"

"What did I just do? What _was_ that? He's just... just dust! I didn't... I didn't mean..."

His look of confusion didn't bring her any comfort.

"I thought you said you were _raised_ a miko? Purifying demons is part of being a miko."

"I... purified him?"

"Yes. You said you knew how to use a bow."

"I do! I can _shoot_ it. I didn't mean that I could do that! I've never seen _anyone_ do that."

"You haven't? What kind of place do you come from that you can be a miko and not know-"

He stopped as he watched her sway on her feet, the adrenaline of the last ten minutes draining to make way for exhaustion. He scooped her up and leapt into the tree tops.

"Let's just get out of here. You need to sleep, then you can freak out about this miko shit later"

She nodded and snuggled down in Inuyasha's arms, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes with a sigh.

She still felt so unsettled. Too much had changed and happened since she'd fallen down that well. She hadn't really allowed herself much time to think about it all, to let it all have a chance to settle in as her new reality. It was all just so unbelievable it was hard to accept that it wasn't really all a wild dream.

It was starting to feel very real now, though her body was too tired, her mind would have to wait to set it all to rights later.

Inuyasha was right, she needed sleep.

She let all her haunted thoughts slip away and only allowed herself to think and feel what was immediately real.

The soft _'frush'_ Of leaves as Inuyasha used tree branches as a leaping point to soar through the sky was a soothing sound in her ears.

His heart beat steady and strong in her ear; she took note of how her own heart slowed to match.

His warmth surrounded her. Strands of his long, silver hair fell over his shoulder and tickled her cheeks, she wrapped some of it around her finger and her eyes fluttered closed. A sense of complete and utter safety enveloped her and she settled a little deeper in his hold.

As she drifted off she wondered when the last time was that she'd felt so peaceful and whole.

She missed the soft look Inuyasha couldn't help but give her at the sight of her so safe and comfortable in his arms.


	13. Chapter 13

The soft twitter of birdsong and the calming rustle of the morning breeze in the trees invaded her dreams and prompted Kagome's return to the waking world. The early spring air was still chilly at this hour, so she snuggled deeper into her blanket and pillow and sighed, intent on falling back into sweet slumber until much later in the morning.

Something brushed against her face, the faintest of touches making her nose and brow twitch with the tickling sensation. The half formed thought that she should close her door to keep Buyo out next time fluttered through the thick, sleepy fuzz in her mind. She shifted to get away from his swaying tail when her blanket constricted tighter around her and then sighed, sending a puff of air to ruffle her bangs.

She frowned.

Blankets couldn't move, and they certainly shouldn't breath.

Her eyes shot open and she saw white under her cheek and red covering her shoulder. She peeked up and strands of silver silk tickled her face again. She followed them up to find-

_'Inuyasha.'_

His face was soft with sleep, lips parted with rhythmic breaths.

_'He looks so peaceful. You don't realize how tense he is all the time until you see him like this.'_

He tightened his arms around her and sighed again and Kagome blushed at the rather intimate situation she now found herself in. She tore her eyes away from his face and glanced around at their camp. She found leaves and tree branches.

_'I'm... HE BROUGHT ME UP INTO THE TREE?!'_

She hunkered down in his arms and pressed herself as close as she could get, screwing her eyes shut to hide from how high up she was.

_'He wouldn't drop me. He wouldn't drop me. He wouldn't...'_

She felt his cheek rest on the crown of her head and then gently nuzzle into her hair.

"K'g'me."

His speech was slurred but there was no mistaking her name. Her heart stuttered to a stop and her face burned. Suddenly she felt him stiffen. She peeked up at him and found him staring at her with wide eyes and the deepest blush she'd ever seen on anyone.

"Good morning Inuyasha."

"Uh... g-good morning."

She couldn't help but smile at how embarrassed he'd become. He really was very cute, wasn't he?

But despite how comfortable she couldn't deny her current accommodations were, nature was calling.

"Um, Inuyasha? I have to go to the bathroom."

"O-oh? _Oh._ Right. Sorry."

Deftly, he slid from the tree branch and landed flat on his feet, so graceful and practiced that Kagome had barely felt the movement at all. He held on to her until she found her footing and turned his back when she made her way into the bushes.

On her return, she grabbed her bag and quiver where he'd hid them in a shrub at the base of the tree, gave Inuyasha his fire rat and a reassuring smile, and followed him deeper into the forest.

* * *

Inuyasha stomped along and tried to forget waking up to Kagome warm and snug in his embrace.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep.

She'd been so tired and worn out after her stint as a prisoner and then their little battle where she'd discovered a new facet of her abilities. She'd been so upset.

He hadn't wanted to wake her by laying her down on the hard ground to set up a camp, so he'd simply picked a tree and jumped up to a sturdy branch and set in to keep watch through the night.

But she was so warm and soft.

And she smelled so good.

And had he been this close to another person since his mother had died?

It all must have been too much to fight; he couldn't even remember falling asleep or even being that tired in the first place.  
Damn him and whatever spell he'd let himself fall under where she was concerned.

He shook his head.

He was thinking about it again.

He needed to focus on something else.

Like what kind of place could she be from that has miko but no idea what they're capable of? He's have to ask her. He couldn't imagine having that kind of power and just not _knowing_. His own power was so innately a part of him, he could always feel it.

Thoughts of her discovery brought on thoughts of her capture and the morons who'd thought to take her from him in the first place. He'd been shocked by how hard it had hit him to see her disappearing into the horizon in someone else's grasp. Her ear splitting scream of his name snapped him out of it and he'd taken off after her like a bat out of hell. Not going after her and carrying on by himself had simply not even been a consideration, no matter how much easier it would have made his life.

Already he could feel the gnawing hollow of her absence.

They were _fast_ and they took her far, so it had taken him much longer than he was comfortable with to catch up.

But he had, and the sheer joy in her eyes when she'd seen him, and how reluctant she was to let go of him after throwing herself in his arms warmed parts of his heart he'd thought long dead.

He glanced back at her where she was walking peacefully behind him, watching birds flitter and bending now and then to pick a flower to add to the growing bundle she'd collected. She noticed his gaze on her and smiled brightly at him.

His cheeks warmed and he looked quickly away.

_'Ah, Hell. I'm in deep, deep shit.'_

"Inuyasha?"

He started at her voice. How she managed to keep catching him off guard he would never know.

"What do you want, wench?"

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her twisting two flower stems together. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out another, twisting it with the others. She must have stashed her bouquet away.

"How'd you get so good at fighting? I know I've only seen you twice, but I don't think you took any injuries either time."

He winced and focused ahead.

Of all the things to take his mind off of the previous topic he'd been preoccupied with, this was not the one he wanted to switch to.

"I've been fightin' my whole life. It's either win or die out here, and I ain't dead yet."

When she didn't answer, he glanced down at her and found her focused on a new chain of flowers, the first one already done and finished into a loop. She'd placed it on top of her head and it looked prettier than he'd ever be able to say. She reached into her sleeve and began twisting two more flower stems together.

"So you're a great warrior who's skills were forged by a life of trial and hardship."

Her voice was faraway and distant, a hint of sadness lacing her scent, but he grinned a little at her choice of words.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that."

She met his gaze with a smirk, but he didn't miss the faint sheen of tears glossing her eyes. He frowned, curious as to what was on her mind, helpless against his desire to fix it.

"Can I tell you a secret Inuyasha?"

His frowned deepened, but he was drawn helplessly into the sudden mischief in her eyes. He nodded silently and she beckoned him down.

He didn't notice that they'd slowed to a stop. He bent his head as she raised to her tip toes, lips a hairsbreadth from the soft fur of his ear.

The breath of her whisper tickled and made his ear flick and brush against her lips.

He face flamed and he wanted to retreat, but her soft giggle held him captive.

Something dropped on the top of his head and then her whispered secret followed right after.

"You're very cute Inuyasha."

His jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

She kissed his cheek and slipped ahead of him, humming to herself, oblivious to all the foundations of his world she'd just upturned with so little effort.

He followed slowly after her, watching her skip and sing, watching the flowers bounce in her hair. He gulped and took a deep breath, willing his heart to slow and his mind to focus back on the task at hand.

None of this meant anything. They had an enemy to find, and then she'd probably go back home anyway.

He crossed his arms in his sleeves, mind made up to ignore her as much as possible.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is like twice as long as the rest of them. New Moons tend to be complicated.

Confusion, guilt, betrayal, and interest swirled dangerously through Kagome's soul.

Since they'd woken up tangled together in the tree branches, she'd been able to tell that Inuyasha was embarrassed and confused and a little sad, and she'd had a desperate need to lift his spirits. She hadn't been able to stay away, give him space, try to let him work it out. She knew he'd ignore her and it tore at her, she didn't want that. So she'd distracted him. She'd drawn him into conversation, she'd _flirted_ with him.

She'd _kissed_ him.

It had been thrilling, once the urge overtook her there had been no stopping it. Innocent as it was, just a soft peck on the cheek, it had plagued her mind and she'd had to expend embarrassing amounts of effort to not hover at his side some more.

And that was all the problem.

While jer heart throbbed and guilt twisted like a knife in her stomach, something whispered at the same time that that wasn't right. There was no reason to feel shame; this was good, this was right.

But that couldn't be.

These were things one felt for their soul mate, and she'd already found- and lost- hers.

She remembered those lessons she and Kisho had had to sit through before they were old enough for the Ceremony. Lessons about what would happen when you met your other half, how you'd feel whole, how you'd feel instantly connected, how you'd want to be near them always, right from the start.

She peeked back over her shoulder. Inuyasha had given her a pretty wide berth, allowing her to walk ahead of him and staying aways back.

But he was watching her with an intensity she could feel. She turned abruptly back around and the maelstrom in her heart picked up speed.

Could she possibly have a crush? She didn't know what that was like, to feel things for someone other than your soul mate, she'd never had the opportunity. She had _always_ known Kisho. Her soul had been unknowingly whole since before she could even remember. When he'd died, the shock of the pain of her soul severing had been so severe she thought she would die, and it had caused a gnawing pain that had only dulled slightly around the edges as time went on.

That pain no longer consumed her and her eyes grew wide in horror.

How had she allowed herself to forget? Was the distance from her home the cause? Or was it... something else?

She honed in on his aura like she had shortly after learning about her reincarnated state, and found the same thing as before- a lot of demonic energy.

Kaede had explained that as the next in line to hold the soul that had once belonged to her sister, Kagome possessed a small, familiar signature deep within her own unique aura. Anyone who held that soul, past, present or future, would posses that little pocket of familiarity.

There was none of that in the yoki swirling in inuyasha's soul. Apparently his resemblance to _her_ lost love was just that, and not explained the same way her resemblance to _his_ lost love was.

She glanced back at him again and found him staring into the horizon. She looked ahead too, and took note of the position of the sun.

Not long to sundown.

For some reason that seemed to be making Inuyasha nervous. She wondered if it was because of they way they'd slept last night. Her heart whispered that she wouldn't be against such sleeping arrangements being permanent, but she tamped that down and continued to stomp forward through the forest.

"Wait."

She looked back, Inuyasha was staring deep into the trees to the left of them, fierce scowl on his face. She bit her lip to keep from grinning at how funny it looked while he still wore the flower crown she'd made him.

_'I bet he doesn't even realize I put it on him.'_

"What is it Inuyasha?"

He stood up straight, ears completely alert and then moved in a blur. Before she could blink she was on his back and flying through the trees. She hunkered down, pressing her face in his shoulder to hide from the wind.

When they finally stopped, it was on the edges of a ruined, smoldering village. Blood smeared the grass and smoke billowed from crushed huts, and in the center of the carnage a grotesque being held up a struggling man by the throat. He snapped the man's neck and tossed him aside, howling in rage and lifting broken walls with his menagerie of tentacles and tossing them aside.

Kagome slid from Inuyasha's back and stared in horror at the monster before her.

The torso of a human man, but countless tentacles in place of legs and feet, like some sort of octopus centaur.

She'd seen some strange things since arriving here, but this...

"Holy shit..."

The creature spun and looked at both of them, shock overtaking rage in his oddly handsome face as he thoroughly took them in.

"No... it can't be... Kikyo?!"

She took a wary step back, something cold and ugly echoing in her inside her. She shook her head no, but couldn't force her mouth to speak.

Inuyasha growled, a deep, dangerous sound that vibrated in the air and left her feeling breathless and highly aware that he was a predator of the highest order.

"Just who the hell are you?"

The tentacled man crossed his arms and glowered back, his crimson eyes glinting with murderous rage.

"Inuyasha. Pity to see you alive. How did you manage to bring that bitch back from the grave with you."

"Leave her out of this and tell me who you are. You that freak Onigumo the old woman told us about?"

He snarled and purple smoke began billowing around his monstrous form.

"Onigumo is _dead._ That weak fool has no place here. I am Naraku."

He turned his blood red gaze back on Kagome, chilling her blood, freezing her solid. A sob choked up from her throat and she clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Well, if you insist on living, Lady Kikyo, you may as well live _with me."_

He surged forward, tentacles reaching out toward her. In her agony and horror, one braincell managed to find enough humor to note that this had all the trappings to the beginning of a hentai manga, but that thought died swiftly in favor pure, unadulterated fear.

"I don't think so!" Inuyasha growled, in front of her in a flash, claws slashing away the tentacles and attempting to draw Naraku away when he realized that each severed limb brought more of that purple smoke, which was a toxic miasma that Kagome wouldn't be able to last long in if she breathed too much.

"Where's the jewel mutt? What have you two done with it? Give it to me!"

"There is no jewel, stupid! And you're one to call someone a mutt."

Naraku snarled and pressed on, determined to overpower the hanyou he'd thought he'd already gotten out of his way once.

"You lie! She was guarding it, and I'm going to have it."

"There was never any jewel, Kikyo wasn't guarding anything but that damn village. And _she_ ain't Kikyo."

While their attention was off of her, Kagome attempted to knock an arrow, but her hands shook so bad she had to take a moment to breath. Something about this encounter was shaking her worse than the others they'd had.

She was positive her soul recognized this... man. The horror she felt was soul deep and more consuming than anything else she'd ever felt.

She took several deep breaths and centered herself, drawing her arrow back and aiming it as best she could at the writhing mass of tentacles and let fly. It streaked through the air, lit with that pink ball of light she'd seen last time she'd used an arrow.

It hit several of his limbs and singed them off, and he turned back on her with unhinged rage.

She backed away quickly, but fell, landing square on her butt and dropping her bow and quiver.

Inuyasha appeared crouched in front of her, a savage snarl and growl ripped from his chest and he threw several glowing blades of youki from his claws. They slashed deep across Naraku's chest and and blood oozed thickly.

That would be a dangerous wound if he didn't take care of it. He tossed something at them, and large insects swarmed out of it. Inuyasha huddled over her, wrapping her in his arms and hiding her in his sleeves as the insects hovered around them, blocking there view of Naraku's retreating form.

When he was gone, the insects began flying away as well, but two stuck Inuyasha with their stingers, a rude parting gift. He grit his teeth and ripped the stingers from his arm.

Kagome was at his side instantly, trying to lift his sleeve to check the puncture wounds.

"Are you alright?! Oh my gods those things were huge. They weren't venomous were they!?"

Already he could feel the venom taking its toll. Normally he'd only be minimally affected, but with every inch the sun descended in the sky, the worse he knew he'd feel. He looked around and a few feet away he found a hut that was still mostly intact.

"Come one we... we need to... we need to get to shelter."

She snuck under his arm to help hold him up, which bit at his pride, but he could tell it made her happy to help.

They stepped inside the tiny house which was blessedly empty of any bodies. Kagome helped him sit up against the wall with the least amount of damage. She touched his forehead to check for fever, biting her lip in worry at how warm he already felt and the faint sheen of sweat covering his skin. She reached for the ties of his fire rat.

"Take this off, you're feverish, you're going to feel over heated."

He didn't protest, just leaned forward enough for her to remove his jacket and fold it neatly at his side.

"I'm going to get some water, okay? And try to get a fire going.I'll be _right_ back. Don't worry, I can tell that guy is long gone."

She picked up her bow and quiver and dashed quickly out of the door to the hut.

* * *

She'd found a bucket close by. A chunk had been taken out of the top, but it was large and would still hold quite a bit of water, and it's handle was still intact.

Thankfully the village well hadn't been affected by whatever Naraku had done trying to level this place.

It was close enough that she didn't feel too apprehensive stepping away from the hut to retrieve some water from it. She took a quick look around as she made her way to it. This had been such a small, tiny little village. What on earth could have been his reason for destroying this place, and all these innocent people?

Panic began to choke her again.

She sat in the dirt that the well was built into and leaned her head against the crude structure, closing her eyes and just breathing, pretending for a moment that if she jumped inside she'd return to the safety of her mother's arms, that she'd find this had all been a nightmare induced by head trauma from falling in the old well on her shrine, that there wasn't a homicidal maniac with octopus legs after her.

Knowing Inuyasha was injured and waiting was the only thing able to pull her out of her panicked haze. He needed her and she _would_ be there for him.

When she opened her eyes again the sun just barely winked over the horizon.

She shuffled as quickly as she could with the weight of the water bucket back to the little hut where Inuyasha waited.

She peeked into one other mostly intact huts and found a couple of small bowls that hadn't been shattered and brought them along to drink from. They were laying in a pile of smashed pottery next to an arm, and she had to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat while gingerly stepping around it and snatching up the bowls.

_'Just breath, just breath, slow and steady.'_

The sun was completely gone when she made it back. She placed her bucket just inside the door and headed back out for one more thing.

She grabbed up several sticks to place in the huts fire pit, lighting one on a still smoldering pile of wood that had burned to mostly ash. They would definitely need the light and warmth.

Finally she went back to the hut.

"Inuyasha, I'm back. I got wat-"

She stepped passed the threshold into the tiny hut and froze, unable to process what she was seeing.

Where She had left Inuyasha was a human man with black hair. His eyes were barely slitted open, but she could tell they were not the brilliant gold they should be.

He looked so identical to Kisho this way that it took her breath away.

"What the hell is this?"

His eyes opened a fraction more and he tried to focus on her.

"What-"

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"What... the hell... you talkin'... wench..."

His breathing was so labored he could barely speak, and Kagome shook her head to snap herself out of whatever awful thoughts she'd been having.

"Nothing. I'm so sorry, of course you're not... oh my god what's happening to you?"

She dropped the sticks in the fire pit, placing the makeshift torch in with them so they'd make a little fire, then she knelt in front of Inuyasha and checked him over, rolling up the sleeve in the arm he took the stingers in. The puncture wounds were red and angry, and she could tell infection was setting in along with the spread of the venom.

She put his sleeve back and choked down the panic that gripped her.

Sweat dripped down his face and she could tell without touching him his fever had increased. She undid the tie to her haori, thankful she'd kept her modern undershirt on underneath the miko clothes.

She dipped her sleeve in the water and patted at his face and forehead. He sighed in relief and his eyes fell closed.

"Inuyasha...Inuyasha I need you to focus for just a second."

He slitted his eyes back open and looked in her general direction. She lifted the ends of his black hair into his line of site.

"I need you to tell me why this is happening to you. Are you dying?"

He gasped for breath for a moment and closed his eyes again.

"New...moon."

"New moon?"

"New... mo... moon."

"This happens with the new moon?"

He gave her a bare nod and she went back to work blotting his face with the wet sleeve.

His eyes fluttered closed, breathing harsh and shallow. He face screwed up in pain and he cried out, slumping forward and burying his face in her shoulder. His arm with the stinger wounds was hanging useless at his side, a dead weight, but his good arm wrapped weakly around her waist. He whimpered and her heart shattered. She wrapped one arm around him, hugging him close, threading her fingers through his hair in a way she hoped was soothing.

"Inuyasha listen to me, you're going to be okay, I'm going to stay right here. Can you hear me?"

He mumbled incoherently, but he nodded against her shoulder. She gently pushed him back, cradling his head and helping him lay on the floor.

"I'm going to check your arm one more time. I'm going to take off your shirt."

She pulled the white kosode out of his hakama and spread it open. She pulled the good arm out of his sleeve, and then gently, steadily lifted his injured arm up and eased it out of the other sleeve. He winced and groaned in pain, but she gritted her teeth and pushed on, his safety and well being her determination.

She dropped the kosode in a heap and re-examinationed the stinger holes, helplessness taking hold.

They were oozing now, swollen and red, and she wished she had something, anything to put on them. She dabbed at them with the wet sleeve, trying her best to ignore Inuyasha's pained gasp.

She had to do _something_ , but she was lost and Inuyasha was human and he was _dying_ and she would _not_ be the reason he died from a bug bite of all things.

She thought back to the bugs who'd done this, what they looked like. They'd sort of looked like wasps.

_Giant_ wasps.

She'd bet they were demon bugs.

She got an idea, one she hoped would lead to some kind of positive development.

She scooted over and grabbed an arrow from her quiver, holding it up and staring intently at the tip. She took a steadying breath and concentrated, conjuring all of her miko experience, which admittedly wasn't much, and all of her desire to help and heal and tried desperately to manifest it into something, anything that could help him.

As the moments ticked by, as Inuyasha's breathing grew more shallow, as _nothing_ continued to happen, Kagome despaired and hopelessness swallowed her.

He was going to die here. And it would be her fault.

' _My fault my fault my... no. He won't die. Not tonight. Not on my watch.'_

A new determination filled her; a burning need to see him alive, safe, healthy and happy.

He _would_ make it through this, and she _would_ find a way to help.

The arrow tip flickered with a tiny pink flame and hope soared through her heart. She cried out in triumph when the arrow head was completely engulfed in the pink purity of her miko power.

She could feel how it flowed out of her from deep within, how it was a part of her, how it had always been a part of her.

Before she could overthink it, she crouched next to him and leaned over his face, one hand cradling his cheek, hoping he could hear her.

"Inuyasha, I'm going to try something. I don't know if this will hurt, or even work, but please trust me."

_'Here goes nothing.'_

She touched the sharp tip to one of the large stinger wounds. Immediately it began to sizzle as her power purified the demonic essence from the venom, hopefully weakening it, or at least slowing its trek through Inuyasha's body.

He screamed as reiki burned through his veins, removing the foreign youki that had invaded his bloodstream. A few minutes later she touched the arrow to the other hole and the process repeated. She bit her lip, ignoring his screams and carried on. Already the wound she'd treated looked better. This was working better than she'd hoped.

Finally he quieted, his breathing slightly deeper, slightly less labored, his arm less swollen.

She sat back and breathed a sigh of relief, but sat right back up when she felt Inuyasha's fingers wrap weakly around her wrist.

"What is it? Are you alright? Do you need something?"

He swallowed and concentrated, eyes trying to concentrate on her face.

"Can... can I... lay... lay in your lap?"

Her face flamed and she sputtered for a second, but he looked deep in her eyes for just a moment, lost and scared and in pain.

_"Please."_

His voice was small and weak and it tore a piece of her heart away.

Of course she couldn't deny him.

"Of course you can Inuyasha. Anything you need."

She went ahead and quickly slipped his fire rat on and pulled the water bucket and bowls close, as well as her bow and quiver, just in case. Gently, gently she lifted his head and placed it in her lap. He sighed and turned his head toward her, taking a deep, slow breath and slumping as much as could in his prone position.

He'd been so tense until now.

She brushed his sweat slicked hair off his forehead and dipped the other sleeve of her haori into the water, using it to wipe at his face again.

She grabbed his kosode and draped it over him like a blanket. As his sweat dried, he would feel much cooler, and she didn't want him shivering on top of everything else.

She ran her fingers through his hair and he tried to lean into her touch. She pulled out bits of broken flower tangled in his tresses, remnants of the pretty wreath she'd put on his head earlier that had fallen apart during his fight with that Naraku person.

That felt like a century ago already.

"K...K'g'me.."

"Yes Inuyasha?"

"You smell... so good."

Her heart stuttered and she laughed in disbelief.

"I... smell good?"

He didn't answer. He'd fallen asleep, and she was grateful to find his breathing, while still on the shallow side, was coming in a steady, rhythmic pattern.

She allowed herself a moment of relief.

The night was far from over, but maybe they were passed the worst of it. Her her own heartbeat and breathing slowed to a normal pace.

Needing something to do, she started plaiting his hair in little braids on the side of his head, curving them around his ear. She'd seen a picture of a Viking in a movie poster with hair like this, and she thought it suited inuyasha's warrior lifestyle.

She was still so jittery. Despite his even breathing and lower temperature, she needed one last confirmation that he would be okay. She decided to check his aura for any signs of it dimming or weakening. Sometimes you could tell when someone was on death's door before they looked too bad physically if you could feel their soul trying to leave the body.

Reaching out with her miko senses, Kagome probed along his aura, feeling it still thrumming strong and vibrant inside him.

Her heart plummeted again as something new became painfully, shockingly clear to her.

Absent his overpowering demonic aura always pulsing brightly around him, the humanity he carried was much gentler, but just as apparent. A unique signature that still felt like Inuyasha, just a softer, quieter version.

Underneath that, however, deep in the core of his soul lay something she'd looked for before, something that had been hidden by the overwhelming feel of the raw, wild power of his youki.

A small kernel of something familiar, something she'd always felt near, once upon a time.

Something that felt like home.

She struggled to breath around the lump in her throat and tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.

She stared down into a face she knew, a face she'd grown to know so well and care for so much two completely separate times. Her head fell back against the hut wall and she sobbed quietly, unsure how to process this but unwilling to wake him with her turmoil.

Was this another cruel trick of fate? Another taunting reminder of what she'd lost? Of what had been taken from her?

_'Or maybe...a gift?'_

She gasped and her soul stirred in a warm, comforting way, not with the hurricane winds she would have expected.

Something settled deep inside and she looked once more on the sleeping face currently taking comfort in her presence as he fought for his life. She forced herself to think about what would happen if he lost that fight after all, and she nearly choked on the anguish.

He'd become an irrevocable part of her so fast, and she'd been so unaware. Her soul had recognized his before even she had and it had grabbed on tight without her knowledge or consent. She carefully reached over and uncovered his hand lying nearest her, the hand that all people in her time looked to to find happiness, and centered herself, looking inward and finding that truth that all modern people were taught to find.

The light of her Red String burst into bright, vivid reality; a glowing, neon bow sitting pretty and perfect on her finger. The tail fell from her hand and pooled in several loops on the floor, connecting right where it should on her soul mate's finger.

On Inuyasha's finger.

It glowed brighter for a moment and burst into a tiny shower of bright vermilion sparks.

Just like it had during that first Ceremony years ago, when she'd learned she'd had her soul mate with her all along, before he'd been taken.

Apparently he'd been given back.

Her heart cracked and healed simultaneously, and her head thumped back against the wall, exhaustion finally claiming her and forcing her to put the emotional upheavals of the day away. It was just too much for now.

She fell into slumber with a prayer, begging the Kami to preserve Inuyasha's life through the night, to keep him holding on until morning.

Tears continued to fall as unconsciousness claimed her.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

With a gasp, Kagome lurched forward from where she'd been leaning asleep against the dilapidated hut wall. Her breath condensed in the chilled air, but she could barely make it out in the thick, pressing darkness of the new moon night.

She took a deep, steady breath to calm her racing heart, pinching her eyes shut against the weight of the night, momentarily grasping her bow and reminding herself that she was not alone, and not defenseless.

Their little fire had long burned out, taking any residual warmth from its embers with it. She clutched at the fire rat with icy fingers, crossing it tighter over her chest to trap any lingering warmth. She couldn't feel her bottom half at all; sleeping upright on a wooden floor with a head in your lap didn't exactly promote optimum circulation.

With that thought, she glanced down to check on Inuyasha, wanting to make sure he hadn't taken a turn for the worse in the night.

He'd turned on his side, laying directly on the arm that had been stung by the wasp Youkai, which meant that he'd recovered enough that he wasn't in immense pain anymore. His yukata had slipped off some, leaving his shoulder, upper chest and back exposed to the chilly night air. His nose was pressed into her stomach, and his other arm was looped loosely around her waist.

Kagome pulled the yukata back over his shoulder, taking in his sleep painted features and finding comfort in the rise and fall of his steady, strong breathing.

Some flashes of memory from the previous morning waking up in the tree with him cane back to her and she smiled softly.

Inuyasha was a cuddler.

' _He'd deny it until he died if I said something_.'

But she would never deny that it warmed something in her to know she brought him this kind of comfort.

The last thoughts she'd had before falling asleep filtered back and her heart twisted uncomfortably with pain and elation.

Loss and gain swirled together into a formless lump in her throat and a few stray tears slipped down her cheeks.

She twisted a lock of his hair and sighed deeply, thrilled and hurt and so so confused.

 _'I just don't know what to make of this_.'

She knew now that she wouldn't be able to leave this place, even if the well did somehow allow her back through.

She'd never survive having her soul torn asunder again. She remembered that feeling all too well, that feeling of being ripped in half, like someone had taken a white-hot knife and run it straight to the core of everything that made her who she was.

She just knew that leaving this place, leaving Inuyasha, would bring that pain again.

The foundations of her soul quivered; she'd barely survived the first time.

She continued to run her fingers through the length of his midnight hair, concentrating on how soft it was, wondering if it would be softer when it was silver again and looked liked silk threads.

As sleep reclaimed her, she wondered if he'd let her touch his hair like this tomorrow.

—

Several hours later, the morning sun finally crested over the horizon and yellow fingers of pale dawn reached across the sky and pulled the dormant youki from a sleeping hanyou.

The following pulse of energy washed through the slumbering Kagome and yanked her right back into the waking world with a harsh gasp.

She glanced down to find a head of white hair in her lap, a set of golden eyes fluttering as confusion marred his brow.

"Oh Kami-sama, you're alive!"

Inuyasha sat up slowly, looking around the tiny, broken hut with a frown. At the sound of Kagome's sobs, he turned to her and promptly found his arms full of sobbing miko.

She clung to him and her tears ran down his bare chest, alerting him to the fact that he was half undressed, his fire rat wrapped around the crying woman currently using him as a handkerchief.

"Oh Inuyasha! I was so worried! I'm so relieved you're alright and back to normal!"

He glanced once more around the hut, taking note of the half broken bucket of water, the fresh ash in the small fire pit, and their white kosodes laying in a heap next to them. He raised one brow at that- _both_ of them were undressed?

"Uh... Kagome?"

She sniffled and blinked up at him, cheeks flushed and wet with tears

"Why are we undressed? What the _hell_ happened last night?"

She tensed, lowering her eyes from his face to the exposed skin of his chest and her face flamed so bright so fast he half feared she'd pass out.

She fell back away from him, slipping from

his arms and standing rapidly. He followed, confusion only deepening as her jaw dropped and her cheeks darkened further.

Her eyes roamed over him and she squeaked. He almost smirked.

"Okay...I definitely didn't think some things through last night ..."

He tilted his head and tried to make some sense of her words. He reached up to scratch the back of his head. His fingers caught on something in his hair, and he traced it down, lifting the end of the braid in his hair. He glanced back up at Kagome who's eyes had widened, a hand placed over her rapidly beating heart.

"Um... I... holy shit you need to put a shirt on or I will never get this explanation out."

She quickly retrieved his kosode and tossed it to him, but he made no move to put it on.

"What?"

She gestured vaguely to his torso, face red and words a jumbled mess.

"Just... just... _cover your muscles_!"

" _What_?"

He was growing more irritated by the second as not one thing was made any clearer to him, but he did as she requested and shrugged his kosode on. She then gave him his fire rat back and redressed herself in her own kosode, covering that weird little shirt she was wearing underneath.

When he was all dressed back the way he had been before waking this morning, she sighed in relief and wiped a hand down her face.

"Okay, what's the last thing you remember?"

He cast his mind back, wading through a chunk of fog he assumed was where his most immediate memories were being hid. Finally he shifted far enough back and he growled low, both hands tightening into fists.

"Onigumo. Or Naraku, whatever the hell his name is. And his stupid fucking bugs."

"Right yes! You were stung by them. It was bad. You were _human_! Thanks for warning me that was going to happen by the way you jerk! I thought you were _dying_."

His world abruptly stopped spinning, leaving him breathless and dizzy, like he'd just been punched in the gut.

 _Human_.

She'd seen him on his human night.

He'd known that realistically he wouldn't be able to hide it from her. With their constant close proximity while they traveled, she'd find out and he'd have to finally reveal his secret to someone. He'd even started to feel that if anyone had to know, she was certainly not the worst person to hold his most precious, most hated secret.

But to find out when he'd been down for the count, brought down even lower than his weakest, made to look pathetic and worthless and he couldn't even remember what had happened and how idiotic was _that_ and-

A broken sob, and she was in his arms again, shaking with pent up grief and stress from what he assumed had been a long night watching over him.

As much as that chafed at his pride, needing to be taken care of, that someone could be so torn up at the thought of him possibly dying was overwhelming.

He gave in to the soft, silly urge to hug her back, tightening his hold on her and her and burying his nose in her hair. Her sobs intensified and he felt lost as to how to make them stop.

"S-stop crying. I'm fine."

"But you _w-weren't_ fine! I thought- I thought you were going to _die_! I'm s-s-so glad you're okay. I'm so sorry Inuyahsa!"

He couldn't help but chuckle. She could just be _so_ ridiculous.

"What the hell are _you_ sorry for?"

She sniffled and cuddled closer, which he hadn't thought possible. It was doing funny things to him to hold her this close, to have her so willingly pressed into his embrace.

"It's because of me you were in so much danger. You protected me from those awful bugs. It should have been _me_ that was-"

"No." He tightened his hold on her further, resting his cheek on her hair and cutting her off with his fierce denial of her words.

Should have been her? Never.

"Don't day that. I could never let anything happen to you."

She gasped and went silent, and for a moment he wondered if he'd said or done the wrong thing. He had no idea _what_ he was doing after all. No one had ever let him this close before.

But soon she relaxed, going practically limp and sighing out a soft, breathy exhale.

"Okay."

Her simple acceptance of his protection warmed him completely, but there were more pressing matters to attend to now, namely what they were going to do about the rampaging murderous demon that had apparently resorted to very drastic measures in his quest for power while waiting for a jewel that had never existed.

They needed to make a plan of action. Wandering around and waiting for him to appear was no longer an option, he needed to be taken out sooner rather than later, and for more than just his own personal vengeance.

However, she seemed content to stay where she was, and he was more than a little surprised to find himself reluctant to push her away.

"Kagome, we need to talk."

"'bout what inuyasha?"

Her voice was soft and sleepy and he smiled despite his previously serious thoughts.

"Naraku. He's a much more serious threat than we thought he was. He's actively murdering villages looking for power. We have to change course and be more proactive in our search for him."

Finally she stepped away from him and he fought down a blush as he met her eyes.

He remembered suddenly how he'd woken up, head nestled in her lap with her hand tangled in his hair and his cheeks flamed anyway. There was no telling _what_ he'd said in that damned human form to end up like that.

Damn this girl and this morning and every direction his life had taken recently.

He wasn't used to being so soft!

' _Keh_!'

"Alright well, let's get a move on, we're wasting time with all this pointless chatter. We can talk on the road."

She giggled and gave him a fond look that he pointedly ignored and turned so she could climb up on his back.

When she was secure, he took off on the direction he could smell that Naraku had taken, his miasma having followed him, leaving a potent trail.

He said a quiet thanks that _something_ had gone in his favor this morning. It seemed like fate had done everything in its power to make him seem completely stupid. Luck had really never been on his side.

Kagome wiggled a little as he ran, getting more comfortable and secure, and he found he was having a increasingly harder time denying that she just might be the greatest stroke of luck he'd ever had.


	16. Chapter 16

Just before the sun began setting, Inuyasha touched down for the first time since he'd taken off that morning. Cramped and in desperate need of the "little girl's bush," Kagome took a moment to refresh herself.

When she'd had a good stretch and relieved certain natural bodily processes, she expected that they'd take off again and cover more ground before dark truly fell, but instead, Inuyasha carefully, cautiously took her hand, blushing when she merely smiled and didn't yank her hand away, and asked her to follow him.

"Of course." She answered, lacing their fingers together and watching the red on his cheeks darken. He cleared his throat, croaked out a little "this way," and led her a few minutes into the trees to a clearing with a small but warm hot spring.

"A hot spring? Oh my gosh, a _hot spring!_ Thank you Inuyasha!" She threw her arms around his neck and to her surprise he actually hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her waist in a firm embrace that left her a little breathless. She pulled away, smiling widely and hopping around to unlace her shoes.

"I'll be quick so you can get in after, I promise. Man oh man am I excited for _warm water_!"

He chuckled at her and waved a dismissal of her words.

"No, take as long as you like. We'll camp nearby tonight. But I'm going to stay close in case something tries to sneak up, okay? I'll be in that tree. You won't even have to scream if you need me."

"Alright!"

He jumped up high and settled in a branch that faced away so she could enjoy her warm bath in peace.

—

Their little fire crackled warmly in the center of their camp, the leftover carcass from their dinner long burned to ash in the center. Kagome combed her fingers through her damp hair, half wishing she'd had some shampoo or conditioner, but still just so grateful she'd had warm water to wash with for once instead of cold river water. She'd taken Inuyasha's words to heart a little _too_ literally and soaked for probably two hours, not allowing herself to think of anything else but how nice the water felt after how stressful the last 48 hours had been. When she'd got out and redressed, Inuyasha had taken it upon himself to set up a little camp and get dinner going. After they'd eaten, he'd taken his own turn in the spring.

And that had left her time alone with no relaxing water to actually think on some of the things she'd learned and been through. She would have to have a talk with Inuyasha- tonight.

He stalked back into camp after taking a _much_ shorter bath than she had and an idea struck her. Before she could rethink it she blurted it out and hoped the ground wouldn't swallow her with humiliation.

"Can I brush your hair?"

His jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull.

"Can you... what?"

Sensing he was about to panic and bolt, Kagome decided to lay it all out, hoping that honesty would sooth his fear.

"You have really pretty hair, I've been wanting to touch it for ages. I'll just get the tangles out. Last night doesn't count since it was just plain human hair."

She was surprised that he'd needed no more convincing. In short order he was sitting rigidly in front of her with his back facing her as she ran her fingers through the length of his hair. He thought he might combust on the spot, but the first time her nails scratched against his scalp he'd practically melted instead.

"Your hair is like silk. There's hardly any knots at all!"

"Hmmm..."

She giggled and continued her work, humming under her breath and oozing happiness.

"Inuyasha..."

"Hm?"

"Why... why didn't you tell me you'd be turning human last night?"

He stiffened a little, but he had no intention of leaving now when her nails had found their way to his scalp again.

"I've never told anyone before. Didn't know how I guess."

"You've never told _anyone_? Not even Kikyo?"

"No. A hanyo's human night is a dangerous secret, and I've never had anyone I trusted enough to share it."

"Huh." She wasn't sure if she should feel touched that he'd alluded to trusting her or sad that he'd always been so alone. Or maybe even bewildered at just what kind of relationship he'd even had with her predecessor if he'd been willing to irrevocably change himself without even trusting her enough to share such an intrinsic part of his identity. She worked up her courage to ask the rest of her questions, desperately hoping she wouldn't push him too far.

"Inuyasha."

"Hmm?"

"Do you... do you think you and Kikyo were... soul mates?"

He snorted harshly and rolled his shoulders, but made no move to remove himself from their current arrangement.

"Why the hell would I believe some bullshit like that?"

She gasped softly, not expecting such an answer, nor that level of vehemence.

"You don't think there's one person out there that fate has set aside for us? You know, someone who's soul completes our own?"

He turned his head marginally, the fire flashing in his eye.

"Why are you asking?"

She blushed and cleared her throat, concentrating on his hair and not his face.

"I just... you must have felt _something_ for her right? If you were going to turn human and marry her. And now... I'm here.. and I have her soul..."

He turned around completely and his molten gold gaze bore into her own. She was completely ensnared, hypnotized by all the dancing flashes of gold as the flames of their campfire reflected back at her.

"Look Kagome, Fate has made it very clear many times in my life that it doesn't want me here. So no, I don't believe for a second it's given me anything like a _soul mate_. And if it did, it certainly wasn't Kikyo. As far as I'm concerned you've got nothing to do with her at all. And all that reincarnation nonsense?"

He was leaning so close she could feel his breath on her face. Her eyes fluttered and heat spread across her cheeks as she hung on every word he spoke.

"Y..Yes?" She asked, waiting for him to continue and his stare grew more intense.

"It's bullshit."

_"W-What_?"

"It's bullshit Kagome, all of it. I don't give a shit about your soul or who had it first or last."

"Oh." He was so intense she couldn't think of anything else to say, could feel nothing but his looming presence, sense nothing but his bright, pressing aura. She gulped, completely intoxicated by him, pleasantly surprised by how eloquent he could apparently be when he felt the need, trying not to be disappointed by what he was saying as it tore everything she was raised to know and believe to shreds.

"No, I don't give a single fuck about your recycled soul. All it does is make you're body move. It's your heart I care about Kagome."

He leaned in further and she ceased breathing. Her eyes fluttered closed and her world narrowed to him and only him as she waited on him to close the rest of the distance between them.

Instead he backed away, leaving her feeling cold and exposed.

She opened her eyes again, regretting his retreat, hating the sad, fearful look on his face, wanting to keep him near.

"Can I touch your ears?"

It was the first thing she could think of and she could tell it caught him off guard. He looked up, hopeful and cautious. He must have expected her to be angry with his previous forwardness.

"Why?" His voice was too small, too unsure. He should never sound like that, not with her.

"Because they're a part of you." She answered, heart breaking at his look of awe.

"Also they're just really cute."

He smiled and victory bells rang in her soul. She patted her lap when his posture relaxed and he laid his head down, turning to the side to watch the fire burn. With care and tenderness, Kagome stroked the fur on the back of his ears like she'd longed to do since she'd first noticed them, and Inuyasha's allowed himself to trust another person more than he trusted himself.


	17. Chapter 17

Kagome was startled awake sometime later. She tried to sit up and get her bearings, disorientated fear clouding her memory of her company and location, but Inuyasha tightened his hold on her and shushed her quietly.

"Hey hey, it's ok. I've gotcha."

Hearing his voice calmed her racing heart and she looked up to see his face. In the deep darkness of night his eyes glowed predatory and inhuman, but also with warmth.

"Inuyasha? Where are we?"

"We're in a tree... we haven't slept alone the last two nights... I thought... I'll put you down if..."

She answered by snuggling up under his chin, basking in the heat that always radiated from him, and tangling her fingers in one of the long strands of silken silver hair trailing over his shoulder. His heartbeat picked up under her cheek and he just felt so solid and real and _alive_. Her soul mate was _alive_. He may not believe in soul mates himself, but she knew this was exactly where she was meant to be, and the happiness that hummed through her to the core of her being left her giddy as she drifted back to sleep nestled safely against his chest.

It was the best sleep she'd had in ages.

—-

"Kagome, wake up."

A soft, gentle voice intruded her pink, fuzzy dreams. She ignored it and simply nuzzled back into the warmth surrounding her and faded back into sleep.

"Kagome, we have to get up now."

"Mph." She attempted to turn away from the voice, but something squeezed her and held her fast, keeping her unable to move.

Light, tentative kisses dropped across her forehead, nudging her bangs aside, soothing her back into sleep once more. The opposite affect it was supposed to have.

"C'mon wench. Wake up!"

"Leave m'lone."

A husky chuckle vibrating under her ear made her made her eyes finally flutter open. Sleepily she lolled her head back to see his face. He was staring at her with a goofy sort of grin and a touch of disbelief behind his eyes. She frowned at him and poked her lip out like a pouting child.

"You're mean. I was sleeping so well."

He chuckled again and slid out of the tree, helping her stand upright while the rest of the sleep clouding her brain tapered off.

"Sorry, but we really need to get back on the road if we're going to catch Naraku. And I thought you might want to use the hot spring again before-"

She was off like a shot, darting through the bushes straight for the warm water, leaving Inuyasha behind and amazed that a human woman could actually run that fast.

—

The peaceful haze that had encapsulates them in their little camp last night burned off quickly as the sun rose higher and they got closer and closer to Naraku.

According to Inuyashas nose, he hadn't gone too far before he'd needed to stop and rest. And then he apparently hadn't started his journey again, not realizing that they could track him easily.

He was shocked and angry when they rushed into the clearing he was sitting in. He stood quickly, his tentacles bursting from wherever they hid when he wasn't using them and miasma pouring out on the ground around him. Kagome slid from Inuyasha back and got her bow ready.

"So, you idiots found me, how clever."

"Hard not to find a moron who runs in a straight line and then camps out in the open. I barely needed to track you horrific stench."

Naraku snarled and pulled out the little spherical hive he'd thrown at them last time, but as it flew through the air, Kagome pierced it with a purifying arrow that turned it to dust.

No longer ready with a diversion to help him escape again until he'd gained more power, Naraku launched into an attack. Inuyasha slashed at tentacles but Naraku was able to grow more in their place. Kagome kept an eye out for open shots where Inuyasha wouldn't be put at risk and sent purifying arrows directly at Naraku, but he simply sacrificed a few more tentacles that merely grew back again.

The constant barrage of purity did start causing him to slow down, which was a boon to them since fighting both of them was already a strain when he was at his strongest.

Naraku seethed at the unfairness of it all.

Without the jewel he was too week, and he'd yet to find anything that could offer even half as much power as the fabled Shiloh was supposed to offer. He had to keep looking, keep gaining power, keep getting stronger.

Then he could kill this stupid half dog and his bitch of a miko.

In the meantime...

"So, Inuyasha, how did you manage to find that horrid bitch Kikyo's reincarnation after I killed her? That's who she's got to be, and I'm not so stupid not to figure it out. How'd you convince yet another pure little miko to sully herself with the likes of you?"

"Shut up, you don't know _anything_. Leave Kagome out of this!" He growled in response, sending out a large wave of yoki blades from his claws. Naraku only managed to block most of them with his tentacles, wincing as a few strays sliced through his clothes and skin. He was weakening fast; he needed to get out of here.

"Kagome? Is that her name?"

"I said _leave her out of it!"_

He slowly drew Inuyasha closer to Kagome's position, wanting her to hear his taunts as well, hoping to sow enough discord between them that he could slip away.

"Ah, so protective of the little copy. Does she know how you use her? Have you told her of her predecessor that she's been substituted for?"

Kagome gasped and Inuyasha raged.

"No! Kagome, don't listen to him!" He attacked with increased fervor, nearly crazed at the scent of Kagome's hurt and sadness. Naraku laughed and dodged as best he could. Taking a few hits was worth this, as he would soon be on his way to a new hiding place.

"Poor, poor girl. Accepting the love of a mongrel, and its all a sham."

"Shut up!"

Kagome nearly choked on the torment that swept her soul.

' _Being used... as a substitute... is that what I'm doing?_ ' The thought destroyed her. She'd been so caught up in being complete once again, at no longer having that gaping, throbbing emptiness in her soul that she'd never even considered the possibility that she could be using Inuyasha as a substitute for the man she'd lost. He was just as much her soul mate as Kisho had been, their connected red strings were proof of that, but did that mean she'd come to love him honestly? He was too good and pure and kind and had been through too much to deserve any less than to be truly cared for. She felt sick, so so sick that she could be _using him_ that she didn't notice when Naraku had angled himself close enough to strike at her with his gross mass of tentacles.

She flew a short distance and struck a tree, her head snapping back and cracking against the hard bark.

Inuyasha's horrified cry of her name was the last thing she was aware of before darkness took her away.


	18. Chapter 18

She woke to find herself in a place that was grey and misty and she knew immediately that she was still unconscious and in some sort of important dreamscape. She looked around and saw a lot of nothing.

' _This is... this is very typical. I'm not sure what I was expecting._ '

The soft, melodic strumming of a guitar drifted from out of the fog and a familiar voice shocked her as it broke the rest of the eerie silence.

"Probably expecting too much. As usual."

She spun around and nearly broke at the sight that greeted her.

Sitting on a log, plucking out simple, pretty notes on the guitar in his hands, black hair cropped short and brown eyes dancing with mirth and teasing and _love_ and looking so real she wondered if the last two years of her life might have been a long nightmare was a man she hadn't even hoped to ever see this way again.

" _Kisho_..."

She breathed his name like a prayer and he smiled sadly, lovingly, achingly familiar.

"Hey babe." He looked her up and down and lifted his brows, the teasing returning to take over his expression. "You look great."

She glanced down at herself and paled. Grass and mud stains mottled the crisp red and white of her miko clothes and bark and leaves stuck out of her hair. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"You're always such an ass."

He winked at her, completely unfazed by the fire in her eyes.

"Love you too."

The exchange was so easy and _familiar_ , just like the rest of him that she couldn't breath. Tears ran unchecked down her face and a little sob escaped her throat. Kisho put his guitar down and stood, holding out his arms with a look of profound sadness and understanding.

"Come here."

With another sob she ran to him and he wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry into his shoulder, stoking her hair and crooning softly into her ear. Finally she calmed and addressed her most pressing question.

"What's with the guitar? You didn't know how to play guitar..."

"I didn't?" He asked, and she shook her head no, giggling a little at his silly look of confusions

"Oh. Well, I guess I didn't. Not in this particular life anyway, but I did in another one. Or I _will_ know, in a future life. It can get a little hard to keep it all sorted."

She took a couple steps back, needing space to fully see his face but unwilling to go too far. She remembered the last time she'd seen him in that nightmare about the dark cave. That had certainly been a conjuring of her subconscious, but this...

"This... this isn't a dream is it?"

He tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled a bit of bark out and then sighed.

"No it's not. This is real."

"How... how are you here?"

"You are both asleep right now, and we _do_ share a soul. I thought you could use a little of my infinite wisdom before you do something stupid." He grinned and she couldn't help but laugh.

"We're both asleep? Who- _oh_! Inuyasha! Oh my gosh, I've got to make sure he's okay, we were fighting Naraku and I was knocked unconscious, I've got to-"

"Hey hey, easy." He cradled her face and stopped her frantic babbling, making her focus on him once again. "He's alright, I promise. I wouldn't be here if he wasn't."

Her face fell in guilt and relief, tears falling once again. Kisho wiped them away with his thumbs and she leaned into his touch even as her heart threatened to shatter.

"Kisho I... I think I might... Inuyasha, I think I..."

"Love him?" He finished for her when it was clear she couldn't get the words out. She nodded and her expression crumpled further, but her eyes snapped back open at Kisho's harsh snort.

"Of course you _love_ him stupid, we're soul mates."

"What?"

He rolled his eyes and pulled her back into his embrace. She fell into him with no resistance, resting her cheek above his heart and marveling at feeling it beating again.

"I said- we're soul mates aren't we?"

She nodded and he ran his fingers through her hair once more.

"Then why are you so broken up about this? It makes sense that you'd love him."

She squeezed her eyes shut against the torrent of feelings battling inside her heart. Love and contentment and guilt and heartache.

"But, just because he's your preincarnation doesn't mean-"

"That's _exactly_ what it means Kagome. _Our souls_ were made for each other, not our bodies. Why does it matter what the outside looks like when the inside is what you're after?"

She couldn't deny that that made some sense, but there were still too many things haunting her.

"But he's so different from you. Not in everything of course, but you're hardly the same person with different skin. I don't want to think I've grown feelings for him just because I can pretend he's you. He deserves more than that."

Kisho pushed her away slightly by her shoulders so he could look in her eyes.

"That's not it at all. Of course we're different, we aren't the same person even though we look alike. But the fact remains that you _do_ love him, and it's not because of _me_. It's because of _your soul_. Your soul, my soul, his soul, Kikyo's soul... it's all the same Kagome. The name, the face, the hair, the time, none of that matters at all. _Together_ is what matters, do you understand?"

She stared wide eyed at him as her mind opened to the truth he was offering. She accepted it and peace washed through her.

But a little sadness would always linger. She took another look at his face and re-memorized the way his short black hair fell over his forehead and into his eyes; every fleck of varying shades of brown in his irises; the scar on his left eyebrow from a biking accident when they were 7... their souls may very well be what mattered _most_ , but that didn't mean the _person_ didn't matter at all.

"I miss you. I'll always miss you."

He cradled her face once more and kissed her forehead, and one tear fell from his eye and landed on her cheek.

"I know. I miss you too. And I'm so, so sorry I had to go so soon. I hope you know that I would never have chosen that."

She nodded silently, closing her eyes as he kissed her forehead one more time and wiped away her tears again.

"It's time for you to go now. Remember what I said okay? There's no room to feel guilty or conflicted, there's only together."

"Yes, I remember."

"Good. I'm so happy you're going to be happy." He smiled at her one last time as he began to slowly fade away, and though she knew she'd never see him this way again, she did not feel panicked that this was their last goodbye.

—-

They woke at the same time and then Kagome wrapped herself around Inuyasha and squeezed as tightly as her limited human strength allowed her. He squeezed her back, rocking them back on forth on the floor of the small, hidden cave he'd found, and they both began babbling out all the pain and fear that had built up inside them both.

"You stupid wench, you scared the shit out of me, you know that? How could you just stand there and let him-"

"I'm so so so so sorry Inuyasha! I'm so so sorry, I-"

"He could have killed you! What the hell am I supposed to do without you-"

"I was so worried something had happened to you while I was unconscious. Gods I'm so glad you're okay-"

"I'm so sorry I failed you Kagome, God's if I'd lost you because of that-"

"I'm okay, I promise I'm okay, I-"

They both pulled away and locked eyes, blushing at how closely they were clutching on to each other. Kagome noticed a thin sheen of moisture over Inuyasha's eyes and her heart broke at just how scared he really must have been.

"Inuyasha... are you crying?"

He blinked and a thin tear trailed down his face.

"No." He sniffed petulantly and she tucked her head under his chin to hide her amusement. He stroked her hair and cleared his throat, bucking up his courage.

"Kagome, I need to.. talk to you about something. Those things Naraku said to you... they weren't-"

She gently placed her hand over his mouth to halt him, smiling regretfully that he'd spent this whole time believing she'd been injured directly because of those horrible lies Naraku had been spewing.

"I know. I know they weren't true, not about you anyway. But I... I worried that they might be true about _me_."

His head tilted in that cute way he always did when he was confused, like a puppy's might. So many little things about him she'd noticed, she'd been a fool to ever think it wasn't _him_ she'd grown to care so deeply for.

"Inuyasha, do you remember when we first met? How you called me Kikyo and I called you Kisho?"

He nodded silently, and she was grateful he was going to allow her to rio this awful bandage off no interruptions.

"Well... Kisho was your reincarnation, much like I am Kikyo's and I... I loved him. I loved him very much. And he died."

He was barely breathing, simply staring at her in disbelief. She plowed ahead, wanting completely clear air and no misunderstandings.

"When Naraku said that you were using me as a substitute for Kikyo it scared me. Not because I believed that's what you were doing, but because... I was scared that's what I was doing. You don't... you don't deserve that Inuyasha. You're so good and honorable and strong and you deserve to be loved by someone because of _that_ and.. and I do. I do love you for all those things and more and I'll do anything you ask to prove it. I'd never ever use you to replace someone else and whatever you need to trust that I'll-"

The sudden presence of his lips on hers stopped her. He pulled away quickly, framing her face with his hands and resting his forehead against hers.

"I told you already, I don't give a shit about this soul recycling business. Not your soul, not mine. Gods you're the best thing that's ever walked into my miserable life Kagome. I'd be a damn fool to walk away from it because you knew me in the future. None of that matters. It's all bullshit. What matters is that we stay together, okay? We have to stay together."

Kagome gasped as deja vu buzzed between her ears and two sides of a coin blurred into one.

Together.

Yes. _Together_.

They were right. They were both so right. They'd both come to that conclusion in different ways; they were both so different.

But they were _both_ so so right.

She kissed him again, firmly, repeatedly, and she whispered her love against his lips again and again. She embraced her future, _their_ future, and her place at his side in this new journey fate had set her on. Her destiny had been tied up in a jumbled, knotted, red string of souls but she'd finally straightened it out and set it all to rights.

They would get through this; they would get through anything.

Just as long as they were _together_...

Where they belonged.


	19. Chapter 19

"Inuyasha! Come quick!"

The red clad hanyo was in front of her on the hut's little porch before she'd even finished calling him, wringing his hands in nervous agitation.

"What is it Sango? Is she alright? Is she hurt? What's wrong?"

Sango huffed and shook her head fondly, gesturing to the door and holding the matting aside.

"She's _fine_ Inuyasha. You can go in and see them now."

He froze, staring at her sweet, soft smile and trying to process what he'd just heard.

She didn't look sad.

She didn't smell scared.

She'd said he could see _them._

He bolted inside before Sango could say another word, the matting falling back in place with a clatter.

Sango chuckled and stepped off the platform to go meet her own husband who was keeping a certain little kit occupied a short walking distance away in a similar little hut.

"That monk better not have let those kids destroy my house while I was gone."

—

Inside the cozy little home, Inuyasha stared in wonder at the sight laid out before him in the center of the floor.

Kagome beckoned him closer and he came, but softly, slowly, scared to break the perfection of the dream this surely must be.

She would probably have to remind him again soon that this was really his life now.

"Look Inuyasha, look what we made."

He looked at her first, taking in her sweat slicked hair, rosy cheeks, and eyes sparkling with shed tears of joy and love and pain and exhaustion. Only when he'd assured himself of her health and safety did he look into the little face he'd been dreaming of for months. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes burned.

Perfect. Perfect.

"Do you want to hold her?"

"Her?"

"Yes. Your daughter."

She passed the tiny baby over, and Inuyasha held her carefully, frightfully, terrified at the sight of his claws so near to her soft, new skin. Kagome tutted in disapproval.

"She's not made of porcelain Inuyasha. You won't hurt her. Relax and enjoy her."

So he did.

Kagome leaned into his side and he carefully cradled his daughter- his _daughter_ \- to his chest and memorized each and every feature. Her little nose twitching, already looking for the scents of her prarents; her little mouth suckling on her own lip while she slept; her black curls still damp and stuck to her head; her ears... puppy ears, _his_ ears folded down on top on her hair. They would open up over the next few weeks.

"She's perfect." He knew she could hear the tears in his voice but he didn't care.

"Hmmm." She hummed as exhaustion began to overtake her. "I want to name her after your mother."

And then the tears fell. He leaned over enough to press several kisses to Kagome's head, overcome with love and peace and gratitude, so completely bewildered at what he'd done to deserve any of this.

"Thank you Kagome. Thank you."

She breathed the steady, rhythmic breath of sleep and he simply cuddled them both close.

His wife.

His child.

His _family_.

Briefly he felt nervous at having to figure out how to keep a baby alive, but they would figure it out together.

He recalled the words he'd spoken to her in the cave those years ago, when they'd finally fully opened their hearts to each other. Before they'd continued on their hunt for the half spider. Before they'd adopted an orphaned Kitsune, or joined forces with a cursed monk or a broken taija all seeking the same end, the end of Naraku. They'd found that end, all of them, together. They'd all settled in Sango's old village, burying Naraku's victims and rebuilding a place where love and hope could flourish and thrive.

And they'd all done it together.

The words echoed again, the words that had been the beginning of all of this, the words that meant even more now than they had then...

Together.

That's what mattered.

That's where they belonged.

 _Together_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who who has read along and given this story kudos and comments. I appreciate every single one!


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